MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police's Internal Affairs Service has recommended the dismissal from service of Police Master Sgt. Hensie Zinampan, the killer cop who figured in the fatal shooting of a 52-year-old woman in Quezon City that was caught on video.
At the sidelines of the joint destruction of illegal drugs in Trece Martires City, Cavite, Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP chief, confirmed he had received the resolution. He has yet to act on it.
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"[The report] was turned over to my office last Monday, but internally, there are things we have to do to make sure the process is done properly," he said in Filipino.
"It has to undergo a thorough review because we need to ensure that all procedures were properly observed so we will not have any problems in case I approve his dismissal."
READ: QC cop who killed 52-year-old already slapped with criminal, admin charges
To recall, Zinampan was caught on video pulling the hair of 52-year-old Lilybeth Valdez and shooting her in the neck in front of her family members.
Eleazar likened the murderer to former Police Master Sgt. Jonel Nuezca, who murdered 52-year-old Sonia Gregorio and her 25-year-old son Frank Anthony in Paniqui, Tarlac in December.
"There will be due process so we can avoid cases where they were able to appeal these and because of some technicality, the rulings were reversed," Eleazar said as he assured that Zinampan would receive the same sanctions.
Philstar.com has sought IAS chief Alfegar Triambulo for comment on the contents of the resolution. This story will be updated with his response.
"We don't want the likes of Zinampan to have a chance to stay in our organization," the PNP chief also said.
However, the police chief continues to firmly reject the notion from critics that a culture of violence and impunity is prevalent within the police organization.
Per PNP data, a total of 18,664 were penalized for various offenses since 2016, 5,151 of whom were eventually dismissed from the service.
"We believe that more and more of our police remain true to their sworn duty and ready to serve the people," Eleazar said in response to the killing in an earlier statement.
— Franco Luna