Cop fired over gun used in Tacloban school attack

TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — The National Police Commission (Napolcom) on Wednesday ordered the dismissal from service of the police officer who failed to properly secure her service firearm that was used by her 14-year-old nephew in the attack at San Jose National High School here in June.

Napolcom said it found Police Staff Sgt. Arla Ray Paciencia, who was assigned to the Regional Finance Service Unit 8 in Eastern Visayas, guilty of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer in relation to the school shooting on June 22 that left three students dead and some 20 others injured.

It said that Paciencia, although officially on duty that day, “deliberately left her service firearm at home and kept it only in a plastic gun box inside a plastic cabinet—not in the safety vault required by PNP rules on firearm safekeeping.”

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READ: School shooting kills 3 students in Tacloban

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“The Commission ruled that her gross negligence in the custody of a government-issued lethal weapon set in motion the chain of events that led to the tragedy, and that her numerous awards and commendations, including on public safety, could not mitigate her liability but instead underscored the higher degree of care expected of her,” it added.

Apart from dismissal, Napolcom also forfeited Paciencia’s benefits and imposed on her a perpetual disqualification from public office.

READ: Authorities foil 53 attacks hatched after Cotabato school shooting

“The unfortunate events in Tacloban and other parts of the country underscore the urgent need for stricter accountability. With this measure, we are reaffirming our standard: every police officer must ensure their firearm is properly secured at all times in the interest of public safety,” Napolcom vice chair and executive officer Ralph Calinisan said in a statement.

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The other shooter in the Tacloban school attack, a 15-year-old student, is facing murder and attempted murder charges in connection to the shooting. He and the younger suspect are held in a facility overseen by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Fight for justice

Erbea Fabia, mother of slain student Cris Lorenz, welcomed Napolcom’s decision, describing it as a birthday gift to her son who would have turned 16 on Oct. 12.

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“A step has been taken in our fight for justice, [but] this is only the beginning,” Fabia told the Inquirer.

She pointed to the need to exact accountability to the owner of the firearm used by the other minor suspect.

The Department of Education’s Schools Division of Tacloban City said Napolcom ruling was an important step toward accountability and underscored the responsibility of firearm owners, particularly law enforcement personnel, to ensure that their weapons are properly secured and kept out of unauthorized hands.

In a statement signed by Schools Division Superintendent Sherlita Palma, DepEd said it continued to remember the students who died, those who were injured, and the families and school community affected by the tragedy.

It also reiterated its commitment to strengthening school safety and security measures, improving learner protection mechanisms, and sustaining psychosocial support services in coordination with concerned government agencies and other stakeholders.

The June 22 shooting, the first such attack recorded in the country, prompted calls for accountability and stronger measures to protect learners from violence in schools.

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Two other fatal school attacks followed—in Zamboanga City on Aug. 18 where two students were killed, and in Banga, South Cotabato, on Sept. 18 where three students died. The shooters in these separate attacks were among those who died. /cb