Citation eyed for brave police couple

For their “heroic act,” a policeman and his wife, who is also in the service, may receive a commendation from the Northern Police District (NPD), a police official said Monday.

Senior Police Officer 1 Jerome Jalla of the NPD District Police Security Battalion and his wife, SPO1 Julie Jalla, who is assigned at the NPD District Police Community Relations, were wounded in a shootout with three armed men on a motorcycle at around 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The couple were off duty when they chanced upon the three men who were acting suspiciously at the corner of Pampanga and M. Natividad streets in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

According to Superintendent Ferdinand del Rosario, NPD public information officer, the couple will receive a commendation for heroism, once the move is approved by the district director.

“Can you imagine, they weren’t even assigned in Manila but they did what they did,” Del Rosario told the Inquirer over the phone.

Based on a police report, the couple were in their car with Jerome behind

the wheel when three men on an XRM motorcycle abruptly stopped in front of their vehicle, just several meters away from a police checkpoint set up by the Manila Police District Station 3.

The couple said they became suspicious because the men seemed hesitant to pass through the checkpoint.

Jerome then got out of the car and introduced himself as a policeman to

the three men. Two of them immediately pulled out firearms—an Uzi submachine gun and a handgun—and fired at him.

Despite being under fire, the policeman managed to return to his car to get his handgun while his wife took out her service firearm.

The armed men, however, strafed their vehicle, hitting Jerome in the right forearm while his wife was wounded in the left forearm.

In spite their injuries, the couple were able to fire back at their attackers who fled. Jerome then drove himself and his wife to a nearby hospital where they continue to receive treatment although their conditions have been reported as stable.

Del Rosario, meanwhile, said that there was a good chance that the commendation for the couple would be approved by Chief Supt. Antonio Decano, NPD director.

He added that they would also recommend to the Philippine National Police  leadership that the couple receive medals for their bravery.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking NPD official who asked not to be identified said that the PNP would also shoulder the couple’s medical expenses.

These include the cost of their stay in the hospital, medicine and doctors’ professional fees.

The source said this was “automatic” for policemen when they incur “battlefield wounds.”

“That’s what we call the RHE or the reimbursement of hospital expenses,” the official added.