(Photo courtesy of PNP)
MANILA – The Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) has recommended the dismissal of Master Sgt. Hensie Zinampan from the service over the fatal shooting of a 52-year-old woman in Quezon City last month.
In a message to the media on Wednesday, IAS chief Alfegar Triambulo said he has submitted a resolution, recommending Zinampan's dismissal to PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar through the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM) on Tuesday.
“Three pages (lang) ang IAS resolution kasi hindi naman nag-contest ang respondent na pinatay niya ang victim. Nag-invoke lang siya ng mitigating circumstances para hindi dismissal ang hatol sa kanya. (The IAS resolution only consists of three pages because the respondent did not contest that he killed the victim. He only invoked mitigating circumstances so his penalty will not be dismissal),” Triambulo said.
Zinampan 42, who is assigned to the PNP Police Security and Protection Group, was caught on video fatally shooting his neighbor, Lilybeth Valdez, in Barangay Greater Fairview on May 31.
Triambulo said the viral video of the incident is a strong proof that Zinampan committed murder.
Meanwhile, Eleazar said he has yet to receive a copy of the IAS resolution.
“As a matter of procedure and policy, all IAS Resolutions pass through the Discipline, Law and Order Division (DLOD) which is under the Directorate for Personnel Records and Management (DPRM). It is the DLOD, DPRM which is mandated to review, and draft the decision, on all IAS recommendations before they are forwarded to the Office of the Chief PNP for approval," he said in a statement.
He, however, assured that Zinampan would be dismissed just like Master Sgt. Jonel Nuezca in December 2020 after he killed the 52-year-old Sonia Gregorio and her 25-year-old son Frank Anthony in Paniqui, Tarlac.
“I am the disciplining authority but of course, it will go through me first because this needs to be checked thoroughly before I sign it. We are observing due process because we want to avoid cases where they were able to appeal these and because of some technicality, the rulings were reversed. We don't want the likes of Zinampan to have a chance to stay in our organization," he added.
A total of 5,151 police officers have so far been dismissed from the service due to various offenses since 2016 as a result of the intensified internal cleansing program of the PNP.
Citing the latest data as of June 16, Eleazar said a total of 18,664 police personnel were also penalized for various offenses. (PNA)
