Court of Appeals (File photo)
MANILA – The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the murder conviction of a police officer who killed his boss, the municipal police chief of Talavera town in Nueva Ecija province, 11 years ago on New Year's Day.
The 12-page decision uploaded recently affirmed the sentence of reclusion perpetua imposed by the Santo Domingo, Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court Branch 88 on former Insp. Bernardo Castro who killed C/Supt. Ricardo Dayag Jr., 47.
Castro was likewise ordered to pay PHP225,000 in indemnity and damages to the victim’s kin.
Dayag confronted the intoxicated Castro after two shots were heard from the Talavera Police Station where Castro was the officer-in-charge for the day on Jan. 1, 2011.
Castro shot Dayag, initially hitting the leg, after the victim demanded that he surrender his firearm.
According to reports, 19 subsequent shots were fired at the fallen officer as he lay on the ground.
Castro then hid inside an ambulance parked near the municipal hall before responding policemen convinced him to surrender after about 30 minutes.
The CA dismissed Castro's claim that the prosecution failed to introduce evidence for the motive for the killing, adding that "motive is irrelevant in this case" and the accused "did not even disavow his having been identified as the perpetrator."
Castro has just been promoted days before the shooting.
Dayag was not on duty that day but dropped by the station with his family on their way to Pampanga. (PNA)
