THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) on Tuesday assured due benefits for the family of police officers who were killed and wounded in an encounter in Parañaque City on Sunday.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa, in a statement, said the family of slain Lt. Armand Melad will receive financial support and social benefits as well as Cpl. Allan Fonatanilla Baltazar who was wounded in the encounter.
Both Melad and Baltazar are both members of the Parañaque City Police Community Precinct 1 (PCP-1).
The family of Melad will receive death benefits which include PHP250,000 from the President’s Social Fund; between PHP141,000 up to PHP181,000 as Special Financial Assistance (SFA) from the PNP; burial benefits worth PHP50,000; and PHP200,000 gratuity from the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
PNP members of the Public Safety Mutual Benefit Fund are also entitled to death insurance depending on rank.
These benefits are on top of the estimated PHP15,000 pesos monthly lifetime pension from the PNP and roughly the same amount of pension for five years from the Napolcom.
On Sunday, Melad, Baltazar, and Staff Sgt. Lenard Quindo responded to a complaint of loud noise caused by a videoke session in Barangay Baclaran when they chanced upon two men, Moamar Sarif and Joven Viña alias Miro, who were on a motorcycle and were not wearing helmets.
The suspects refused to alight and Sarif drew his gun and fired upon the police officers, prompting them to return fire.
The two police officers were taken to the San Juan De Dios Hospital in Pasay City but Melad was declared dead on arrival after succumbing to three gunshot wounds while Baltazar only sustained a gunshot wound in his leg.
Sarif was also pronounced dead on arrival at the same hospital but Viña escaped and is now the subject of a manhunt. A small amount of shabu was recovered from Sarif by the attending medical staff and was turned over to the Southern Police District.
“It is always a sad day in the PNP when we lose good men in the fight against illegal drugs. But this only strengthens our resolve to go against individuals and crime syndicates behind the illegal drug trade. We salute their bravery, particularly in these challenging times when the PNP is fighting criminality in the midst of a pandemic," Gamboa said.
On Monday, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, personally awarded a "Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting" to Baltazar at the San Juan De Dios Hospital.
At the same time, a posthumous "Medalya ng Kagalingan" will be given to Melad for his exceptional performance and self-sacrifice in upholding the highest degree of service.
The NCRPO will also conduct stress debriefing to Baltazar and Quindo as part of the proactive approach in preventing mental health consequences from the incident while all the hospital and burial expenses will be shouldered by NCRPO.
"NCRPO mourns the loss of a comrade who died while fulfilling his sworn duty. We condole and extend our deepest sympathy to the bereaved family of our honorable man who left a name worth remembering,” Sinas said. (By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)
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