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TACLOBAN CITY –– Northern Samar officials mourned the death of a police chief who accidentally struck his thigh with a gaff (tari) while attempting to arrest people involved in an illegal cockfight on Monday.
Governor Edwin Ongchuan described Police Lieutenant Christian Bolok, chief of the San José police station in northern Samar, as a “committed and selfless officer” who gave his life while enforcing the law.
Ongchuan, in a press release, said that the Northern Samar provincial government has extended P50,000 in financial assistance to Bolok’s family.
Colonel Arnel Apud, Northern Samar Police Director, said that Bolok’s “premature” death was a severe blow to the police organization.
“My heart aches because we have lost a brother who sacrificed his life in the name of service,” said Apud.
“I have already instructed the personnel and records section to immediately provide the necessary documents to release benefits for Lieutenant Bolok’s grieving family,” he added.
San José City Mayor Clarence Dato said the local government has also provided financial assistance to Bolok’s family.
“We mourn the loss of our Chief of Police, Christian Bolok, who passed away while performing his duties. A dedicated law enforcement officer is a great loss not only for the PNP but for our community, ”said Dato.
Bolok, 38, along with other policemen, went to the town of Manduyang in San José to review reports of an illegal cockfight, known locally as “tupada.”
Upon arriving in the area, the police captured six suspects holding the tupada.
However, during a fight, Bolok, who took office two weeks ago, accidentally struck his left thigh with a metal spur, a sharp-bladed weapon attached to roosters during cockfights locally known as “tari.”
Governor Edwin Ongchuan has banned cockfighting in the province after some people who tested positive for SARS Cov2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), were found to have participated in street cockfights.
Bolok’s body is at the provincial police headquarters and is scheduled to be taken to his hometown of Laoang, in northern Samar, where he will be buried.
Lieutenant Eleazar Arancillo takes his place as San José’s municipal police chief.
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