MANILA: The brutal killing in broad daylight of an unarmed mother and son by a police officer following an altercation over the use of a holiday noisemaker has outraged the Philippines.
The brazen incident, which was caught on video that has since gone viral on social media, has triggered renewed calls to end police brutality in a country where claims of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers by lawmen have been rampant since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
In the five-minute video, Police Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca can be seen confronting his neighbor, Frank Anthony Gregorio, 25, while the latter’s mother, Sonya Gregorio, tightly wraps her arms around her son to hold him back. The incident transpired Sunday, around 5:10 p.m., just outside the residence of the victims at Barangay Cabayaoasan, Paniqui, Tarlac in Central Luzon.