MANILA, Philippines — Some family members of the mother and son who were fatally shot by a cop in Tarlac could not help but still fear for their lives, the head of the family told senators Thursday.
“Gusto nga po naming mapabilis po yang kaso pong ‘yan. Ang mga anak ko ay medyo natatakot do’n sa naganap. Na-trauma,” Florentino Gregorio said during a Senate justice and human rights committee hearing into the recent spate of killings in the country.
(We want this case to be resolved quickly. My children are still feeling scared because of what happened. They were traumatized.)
Among the killings tackled during the hearing included the twin shootings that claimed the lives of Gregorio’s wife, Sonya, and son, Frank.
It was Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca who was caught on video in the act of shooting pointblank Sonya and Frank in December last year.
On Jan. 7, Nuezca pleaded “not guilty” at his legal counsel’s recommendation. He will be tried for two counts of murder for the death of the Gregorios.
Nuezca previously faced two administrative cases for homicide in 2019 but was spared dismissal, after both cases were found to be lacking substantial evidence.
When asked if his family is receiving threats to their lives, Gregorio answered in the negative but said that his children could not help but fear for their lives.
“Hindi po mawala sa isip nung mga bata, sabi nung mga bata baka may mga kasamahan na di natin nalalaman. Marami palang naging kaso yung pulis na ‘yan, ‘di maalis ang mga takot ng mga bata po,” he said.
(The children can’t help but feel scared because they think someone’s going to go after us. He faced previous cases already, the children can’t help but still feel scared.)
According to Gregorio, there are police officers constantly checking up on them to ensure their safety.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas affirmed this and told the committee that police patrols are deployed to the Gregorio family home everyday.
Sinas also said that all the witnesses of the incident have already been enrolled in the Witness Protection Program.
“Lahat po ng witness po nung insidente ay na-enroll na po namin sa Witness Protection Program,” the PNP chief said.
(All of the witnesses have been enrolled under the Witness Protection Program.)
“At meron po kaming direct contact, access sa mga yung mga pulis namin doon sa paligid na regular po sila dinadalaw,” he added.
(We also have direct contact to the police who are checking up on the Gregorio family.)
“We assure the family of the Gregorios na kami po ay sususporta po sakanila [that we will always support them],” Sinas further said.