FORMER Army soldier Winston Ragos who was shot dead by a policeman was laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Sunday afternoon, April 26.
Ragos was given full military honors including a 21-gun salute during his burial where his family, including his daughter, was present.
On Saturday, Ragos’ remains arrived at the Libingan ng mga Bayani where the Philippine Army rendered military honors to him.
The Army shouldered all burial expenses and provided other assistance needed by the family. They also fetched Ragos’ daughter, Irich Lovely in Bicol in order to attend his father’s burial.
“We condole with the family of the late Corporal Ragos, he has suffered enough from the challenges of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) caused by the invisible wounds of war. Our priority right now is to take care of his family ensuring they have all the resources they need during this critical time. The Philippine Army honors Ragos for his service and sacrifice that defines us as an Army,” said Army chief, Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay.
Ragos was shot and killed on April 21, Tuesday by Police Master Sergeant Daniel Florendo near a quarantine control point in Maligaya Drive, Barangay Pasong Putik in Quezon City.
This came after Ragos allegedly confronted two police trainees manning the said checkpoint, who asked him to go home due to the prevailing enhanced community quarantine, a measure to stop or slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The police trainees reported the incident to Florendo, who was their supervisor on duty at the time of incident.
He was also informed that Ragos has a gun on his sling bag.
The following event, which was caught on video footage showed Florendo toting his pistol to Ragos while ordering him to put his hands up.
Ragos refused to heed the order and instead tried to open his bag, supposedly to grab something inside and attempted to face the policemen.
Florendo then shot Ragos twice which caused his death.
He was charged of homicide cases and has been on hot water for shooting and killing Ragos despite the call of the people in the crime scene not to shoot him as he was unarmed and suffering from PTSD.
Ragos’ kin also claimed that he has no firearm during the incident, in contrary to the claims of the police that a .38 caliber was recovered from his sling bag.
Ragos was discharged from the service after being diagnosed with PTSD which he acquired while in service. (SunStar Philippines)