Mobile phone saves cop from death

PAGADIAN CITY-A police officer survived a slay attempt here after the bullet fired by one of two men riding in tandem hit first his mobile phone before grazing his right face.

Supt. Benito Recopuerto, city police chief, said on Wednesday that Senior Police Officer 4 Carlos Omentic was driving his motorcycle on his way to the police station around 7 p.m. Tuesday when attacked.

Omentic, he said, managed to fire back as he ran towards the city police station.

Omentic later told the Inquirer that his mobile phone had saved him from major injury or perhaps death.

Omentic, a warrant server, recounted that he decided to call his wife while driving to the station because he had left his reading glasses at home.

As he was trying to call, two men riding in tandem suddenly emerged. One of the suspects fired at him.

Omentic said his phone first took the bullet and because of that, he only suffered a minor injury on his right face.

“The bullet’s impact injured the policeman near his right ear,” Recopuerto said.

The police’s Scene of the Crime Operation (Soco) said it has recovered 15 slugs from the area. These were from 9-millimeter pistol and caliber .45 pistol.

The police said the incident was still being investigated to determine the identities and motive of the suspects.