POLICE personnel in the City of Naga, southern Cebu has filed a case Tuesday Dec. 27, 2022, against one of their colleagues who gunned down his wife in front of their eight-year-old daughter at the Naga police station on Christmas Day.
Staff Sgt. Fernando Mata, 35, faces a parricide case after he gunned down his wife, Heronia, 39, at the station’s Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD).
Aside from the criminal charge, Mata will undergo administrative proceedings before the Regional Internal Affairs Service-Central Visayas.
Under the influence
Lt. Col. Mark Gifter Sucalit, deputy director for operations of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), said Mata underwent a liquor test and drug test after the incident and the result showed that he was positive for alcohol. Mata’s drug test result has yet to be released.
Sucalit added that just like in other cases, due process in the administrative case against Mata has to be observed.
Mata’s service firearm also underwent ballistic examination after it was confiscated by the police.
The suspect reportedly expressed regret about the incident saying that he got carried away with his emotions at that time.
He added that he should have settled their differences as a couple privately.
Due to the incident, Sucalit urged all police personnel in the province to talk to their friends if they encounter big problems and not make decisions out of anger as this may lead to disastrous results. (AYB / TPT)