THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Paniqui, Tarlac has meted a double-life sentence to former policeman Jonel Nuezca after he was found guilty of two counts of murder over the killing of a mother and her son last December 20, 2020.
In an 18-page joint decision dated August 26, 2021, Paniqui RTC Branch 106 Presiding Judge Stela Marie Gandia-Asuncion also directed Nuezca to pay the heirs of his victims—Sonia Gregorio , 52, and her 25-year-old son Frank Anthony—in the amount of P426,280 each.
“Law enforcers thrust their lives in unimaginable zones of peril. Yet resort to wanton violence is never justified when their duty could be performed otherwise. A ‘shoot first, think later’ disposition occupies no decent place in a civilized society. Never has homicide or murder been a function of law enforcement,” the decision read.
Reacting to Nuezca’s conviction, Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said: “We commend the prosecution and the honorable judge for the speedy disposition of this case. It shows that if we all put our hearts into it, we can really make the administration of justice a little more efficient.”
The trial court held that the prosecution was able to establish through its evidence and witnesses, including a phone video of the shooting incident, that Nuezca shot the victims at almost point black range, resulting in their deaths.
It added that the prosecution was also able to establish the presence of the element of treachery in the commission of the crime.
The decision described treachery as a deliberate attack and done without warning, leaving no chance for the victim to resist, to fight back or escape.
“The attack made by the accused is so swift and sudden that the victims were not able to defend themselves. The shots fired were made in quick succession. Hence, the attack made is treacherous,” the trial court pointed out.
It stressed that Nuezca shot the victims while he was holding the shorts of Frank and while her mother was embracing his son.
According to Gregorio’s granddaughter Alyzza Kate Rufino Calosing, who took the video of the incident using her phone, she went to the victims’ house and heard a loud explosion from a distance that came from a boga, or a polyvinyl pipe, that was fired by Frank Anthony and a certain Jaypee.
It was at this juncture when Nuezca came and tried to arrest Frank Anthony that led to shouting, a commotion, and later a heated verbal altercation.
When Calosing saw Mark Lander, another witness, taking a video of the commotion on two cell phones, she took the other phone and continued recording the incident.
Sonia then saw the commotion and immediately went to her son Frank Anthony and embraced him to prevent Nuezca from taking custody of the latter.
Calosing then heard Nuezca’s daughter joining the altercation, telling Sonia: “My father is a policeman.”
Sonia reacted to the daughter by singing : “I don’t care-e-e-e-e-e” from the popular song “I Don’t Care” of a K-pop group.
In this instance, a peeved Nuezca shot Sonia and then her son at close range.
Florentino Gregorio, who is the husband of Sonia and father of Frank Anthony, claimed that even before the shooting incident, Nuezca already harbored a grudge against the victims because of their dispute over right of way.
Nuezca surrendered to the authorities following the incident.
The incident sparked public outrage against the police, which has been under fire for its failure to protect some innocent civilians in its bloody all-out war against illegal drugs.
The Philippine National Police, reacting to the conviction, said the verdict showed the organization is not condoning any of its rogue members.
Central Luzon Police Director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon said: “This development on the case of [former Police Staff Sergeant] Nuezca goes to show of equal justice to everyone and that the PNP does not condone any infraction or wrongdoing committed by any of its members.”
“Any individual regardless of status must face the crimes they have committed, there is no exemption in enforcing the law,” he added, in reaction to the sentence in a case that was closely followed by the PNP leadership. With Rene Acosta
Image courtesy of PRO-3