Help needed by Mandaluyong cop wounded in ‘agaw-baril’

Antonio Oliver

While his colleague hogged the limelight for the wrong reason, the plight of a policeman who was wounded in an antidrug operation has gone unnoticed.

PO1 Antonio Oliver, a member of the Mandaluyong police’s Drug Enforcement Unit, was serving an arrest warrant on a drug suspect when the latter grabbed another policeman’s gun. As the two grappled for possession, the firearm went off, hitting Oliver’s left hand and shattering the bones in his thumb and index finger. The suspect, Percival Supnet, was placed under arrest.

The incident happened on June 27, a day before Oliver’s colleague, PO1 Jose Tandog, would land in the news for beating with a “yantok” (night stick) two men caught drinking alcohol on the sidewalk. Tandog was later reassigned to Marawi City.

The Inquirer learned of Oliver’s plight after his live-in partner asked for help. The lawman said in an interview he would need two operations to reconstruct the bones in his fingers.

This will restore the appearance of his hand but limit its flexibility, leaving Oliver with a partial disability.

“I don’t know how much surgery will cost,” he said, adding that he also doesn’t have the money to pay for it.

When Oliver was confined, his insurance claim was denied by the Public Safety Mutual Benefit Fund Inc., he said. According to PSMBFI, the policeman was not entitled to compensation since he was shot by accident and not wounded in action.

His hospital expenses were also not covered, prompting his superior, Senior Insp. Cesar Zamora, and members of the Mandaluyong DEU to chip in to pay his P48,000 hospital bill.

Senior Supt. Joaquin Alva, Mandaluyong police chief, also promised to help Oliver and recommend him for a PNP Wounded Personnel Medal.

“I want to ask for help from PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa. I hope they will acknowledge the plight of wounded officers. Do we have to die before we can get help?” Oliver said.