Quezon City Hall (PNA file photo)
MANILA – A Manila police officer was dismissed from the service for killing a Quezon City traffic enforcer two months ago.
According to a news release from the QC local government on Tuesday, Lt. Felixberto Tiquil was removed from the service due to grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer after he gunned down Edgar Abad Follero, 32, along Roosevelt Avenue in Barangay Veterans Village on Oct. 13.
QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said the decision of the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) should serve as a warning to rogue cops.
“The resolution of this case is a triumph for justice. In less than 60 days from the filing of the complaint, the PLEB was able to resolve this matter with utmost impartiality and dispatch. The wheels of justice run fast here in Quezon City, without fear or favor. I again commend the PLEB QC for their prompt action in helping out the little one in need,” she said in a statement.
Tiquil was charged by Charilyn Pagsibigan, Follero’s common-law wife, and Paul Timothy Delos Reyes, who was with the victim when he was shot.
Lawyer Rafael Calinisan, PLEB executive officer, said Tiquil mistook Follero and Delos Reyes as carnappers.
“We do not buy the alibi of Tiquil that he shot Follero because of self-defense. He claims to be a seasoned police officer, and yet at the slightest instance, his first instinct is to inflict a mortal wound against an innocent person,” Calinisan said.
Delos Reyes assisted his friend Follero, a delivery rider, after the latter’s motorcycle broke down in Pandacan, Manila.
They were near Muñoz Market when Tiquil approached them and without any warning, shot Follero twice in the body.
Tiquil also pointed his gun at Delos Reyes and ordered him to drop, face down.
“This is a clear violation of the police Rules of Procedure. Further, Tiquil claimed to have chased the victims from Nagtahan, Manila up to Roosevelt, Quezon City. How can two people pushing a defective motorcycle outrun a seasoned cop on a motorbike? We are more than convinced that Tiquil was not being truthful in his narrative of what happened,” Calinisan added.
Pagsibigan thanked the QC PLEB for its swift action.
“Ngayon, mabilis naresolba ng PLEB ang kaso at tanggal na sa serbisyo ang pulis na ito. Wala syang karapatang maging alagad ng batas dahil sa ginawa nya sa asawa ko (The PLEB quickly resolved the case and this police officer has been dismissed from service. He has no right to be a law enforcer because of what he did to my husband,” she said. (Maritz Moaje/PNA)
