The Philippine National Police spokesperson said Thursday firing a warning shot was not needed during the shooting incident that killed a retired soldier in Barangay Pasong Putik, Quezon City.
“Sa pagkakataong iyon ay hindi naman kailangan ng warning shot at ginampanan ng ating pulis ang naaayon sa police operational procedure,” Banac said.
(At that time, there was no need for a warning shot, and our police acted following the police operational procedure.)
“Makikita natin na nagbigay siya ng verbal command, makailang beses siyang nagbigay ng warning subalit nagbigay pa rin ng mga provocative na mga galaw ‘yung suspek…” Banac said.
(We can see that he gave verbal commands, he repeatedly warned him, but the suspect still made provocative actions.)
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Banac reiterated that Florendo made a “judgement call” as his life was supposedly in danger because of Ragos’ actions before he was shot dead.
“Ang nangyari ay judgement call batay sa pagkakakita ng ating pulis na nasa panganib ang kaniyang buhay kaya naputukan ang suspek,” the PNP spokesperson said.
(What happened was a judgment call based on our police finding that his life was in danger and so he shot the suspect.)
Banac acknowledged that under normal circumstances, a cop could have disabled a suspect, but in Ragos’ case, he was also threatening the police officer.
“Under normal circumstances sana ay puwedeng gawin ‘yun… pero sa pagkakataong iyon, sa tingin ng ating pulis nasa panganib ang kaniyang buhay dahil sa kabila ng kaniyang repeated verbal command ay hinahamon pa ng suspek ang ating pulis,” Banac said.
(Under normal circumstances, it would have been possible to do that, but in that case, our police thought his life is in danger because, despite his repeated verbal command, the suspect is still challenging our police.)
He also backed up that authorities indeed found a gun inside the sling bag of Ragos. The victim’s family, however, claimed Ragos was not armed.
“Sa bag po natagpuan ang baril ng suspek at ito po ipriprisinta sa korte,” Banac said.
(The gun was found inside the suspect’s bag, and it will be presented to the court.)
The case has been turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit of the Quezon City Police District.