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The blatant killing of a mother and child at point-blank range by an off-duty officer has caused outrage in the Philippines and rekindled calls for reform of the country’s police force.
The incident, which was recorded by a witness on film, has intensified criticism of the president, Rodrigo Duterte, who has been accused by human rights groups of allowing the police and the army to act with impunity.
Graphic images shared on social media show a plainclothes police officer arguing with his neighbor and adult son before abruptly shooting both from close range. Officer Jonel Nuezca, who turned himself in to police on Sunday, was charged with two counts of murder.
Nuezca would have argued with the neighbors about the use of a God, a popular firecracker during Christmas and New Year celebrations, before attempting to arrest the son, Frank Gregario, 25. The footage showed Frank’s mother, Sonya, holding onto her son to avoid being taken away, before the officer shot both of them twice.
Jacqueline Ann de Guia, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Human Rights Commission, described the killings as blatant and senseless. She said: “We have seen death after death. How much longer until the killings stop?
On social media, the hashtag #stopthekillingsPH was widely shared, along with calls for justice.
In response to the incident, which occurred in Tarlac, a city north of Manila, Duterte said that the police must act in accordance with the law and described the incident as “too brutal”.
However, human rights groups note that Duterte has repeatedly encouraged officers to kill the suspects and even vowed to protect them from prosecution. He once warned activists not to bring cases against police and army officers for extrajudicial killings, stating that “they will never go to jail, nor under my supervision.”
Duterte, who rejects all accusations of wrongdoing, maintains popular support. However, it also faces continued international scrutiny for its controversial war on drugs, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, by some estimates. Last week, the international criminal court said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that crimes against humanity were committed during the crackdown.
A UN report on the war on drugs, released in June, said there had been “near impunity” for extrajudicial killings. He added that there was risky rhetoric from the highest officials that had emboldened the police to behave as if they had “permission to kill.”
Nuezca has yet to comment on the accusations. However, Noriel Rombaoa, a police chief in Tarlac, told local broadcaster DZMM that the officer had admitted to the killings.
Harry Roque, a presidential spokesman, said Duterte would not protect him, adding that the shooting occurred while the officer was off duty.
