FOR BRAVERY above and beyond the call of duty, NCRPO director Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina awards a medal to PO2 Chilbert Ofalla and two other policemen who were wounded in a shoot-out with suspected criminals in Caloocan City. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Those who do good will be rewarded while sanctions await those who do not.
This was the message Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, conveyed Tuesday when he personally awarded medals to three Caloocan policemen who ended up in the hospital after they figured in a shoot-out with suspected criminals on Monday.
Espina—who is implementing a reform program aimed at minimizing crime in Metro Manila—went to Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center in Fairview, Quezon City, where he presented the Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting and Medalya ng Kagalingan to Police Officers 2 Don Enrico Mendoza and Chilbert Ofalla and Police Officer 3 Edmund Bueno.
Bueno is confined at the hospital’s intensive care unit due to multiple gunshot wounds in the face and body.
Another Caloocan policeman, Police Officer 2 Joel Pinon, will receive the Medalya ng Kagalingan. He was on patrol with the three policemen although he was not wounded during the gunfight which took place at the corner of Catleya and Waling-Waling streets in Camarin, North Caloocan, around 10 a.m. on Monday.
Espina, who ordered the dismissal from the service of several policemen facing cases during his first few days in office, commended the four for their bravery.
“They were really willing to risk life and limb to protect the citizenry and perform their sworn duties with utmost dedication,” he said.
“They must be emulated by other police officers in order to prove to the public that the Philippine National Police is doing its very best to serve and protect the Filipino people against lawless elements,” Espina added.
Spot promotions
Aside from the commendations, Espina said the four policemen, all assigned at the Caloocan Police Community Precinct 21, would be recommended for spot promotion and given a cash gift. The PNP will also shoulder their hospital expenses.
For their part, Ofalla and Mendoza said they were only doing their job when they decided to go after the still unidentified men.
“We did not expect to get these awards and recognition from [the NCRPO chief himself],” Ofalla said. “But this recognition lifts our morale and inspires us to really work harder.”
He recounted that they were on patrol on Monday morning with Bueno, the station commander, in Camarin when they spotted a group of about six men who were carrying heavy firearms standing beside a Mitsubishi Adventure.
“We were just about to approach them to ask why they had those guns,” Ofalla said. “However, the men hurriedly climbed aboard the [van] and drove off.”
Mendoza added that they gave chase but the tables were turned on them when gunfire suddenly erupted.
“Our patrol car was really peppered with bullets. I think they were using M-16 and M-14 rifles. Our windshield and the windows all started shattering,” he said.
Instead of retreating, the four remained inside the police car and returned fire with their standard-issue handguns.
“We were outgunned but that did not stop us from firing back. However, we could not [just fire at random] because it was a busy area—it happened right in the middle of a flea market—and we also had to think of the safety of civilians,” Mendoza added.
After about five minutes, the armed men escaped in their van. Bueno, who was seated beside the driver, sustained the most number of gunshot wounds. Ofalla, the driver, and Mendoza, who was seated behind Bueno, were hit in the arms and abdomen while Pinon was unscathed.
A bystander identified as Jeofrey Picar was also hit by a stray bullet on the right leg.
“While they were getting away, we were still thinking about following them but seeing that our commander was badly hurt, [Pinon] again called for backup and used our badly damaged mobile car to rush us to the hospital,” Mendoza said.
Espina vowed that the police would not rest until the perpetrators were found as he told reporters that the van used by the suspects was found abandoned in Laguna province.
“We really have to commend these policemen and find out who did this to them. They [suspects] could have done something worse had they not been seen,” he said.