Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday assured the swift dismissal of two rogue cops and ordered the relief of an entire police unit over separate incidents.
Published June 1, 2021, 9:02 AM
An alleged drunk police officer killed a 52-year-old woman by dragging her by the hair before shooting her dead in Quezon City Monday night.
Police identified the suspect as M/Sgt. Hensie Zinampan, of the Police Security Protection Group, who was caught in a video firing a shot at Lilibeth Valdez.
A photo uploaded by Vincent, the victim’s grandson, on his Facebook account shows Lilibeth Valdez lying dead outside their house in Barangay Greater Fairview, Quezon City
The killing stemmed from a heated argument between Zinampan and Valdez’ son, according to the victim’s daughter, Beverly Luceno.
Handout Philippine National Police
The case of a police officer suspected of shooting a woman dead at close range has put a spotlight back on extrajudicial deaths in the Philippines, where rights groups have criticized the government for thousands of killings by cops in the nation’s crackdown on illegal drugs.
The Monday night slaying, which was caught on a mobile-phone camera, showed Master Sgt. Hensie Zinampan, dressed in plain clothes, allegedly drawing a gun as he approached the victim, Lilybeth Valdez, 52, before shooting her in the back of the head, authorities said.
“This is a heinous unacceptable crime because the police are supposed to protect our countrymen and not act as criminals,” National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar told reporters as he ordered officers to speed up the investigation into Zinampan, 42, who was assigned to the Police Security Protection Group.