Column

Another shooting

(This article contains sensitive discussions on gun violence and killings. If you are uncomfortable with the topic, kindly skip this section of the news article.)

Just barely a year after the fatal December 20 incident in Paniqui town, when Police Staff Sgt. Jonel Nuezca, shot to death Sonia Gregorio, 52, and her son Frank Anthony Gregorio, 25 after a heated argument, an old woman, identified as Lilybeth Valdez, was shot at the back of her head in Brgy. Greater Fairview at about 9:30 p.m. on Monday, May 31. According to accounts, the officer identified as Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan was already holding a gun before he approached the victim and mercilessly murdered her at a close range. 

The incident is a clear manifestation of gun violence. According to available statistics from Amnesty International, more than 500 people die every day from such gun-related violence worldwide. 44 percent of all homicides involve gun violence. And between 2012 to 2016, 1.4 million gun-related deaths were recorded globally.

Sadly, gun violence has exacerbated the culture of impunity in the country. Due to the rising cases of gun violence, people are already desensitized to it, making gruesome news and tragic incidents of gun violence normal. Apart from its criminal nature, gun violence has become a contemporary global human rights issue, which threatens our right to life, security, and health.

As a response to the incident, the Commission on Human Rights called for an independent investigation, along with the internal mechanisms performed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to make Zinampan accountable of this crime. PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said he had already instructed Quezon City Police District Director Brig. Gen. Antonio Yarra and Internal Affairs Service Inspector General Alfegar Triambulo to expedite the investigation against Zinampan, and personally apologized to the bereaved family.

One interesting dimension in analyzing the issues of gun violence committed by police officers is the importance of prioritizing the officers’ mental health and well-being. On Thursday, June 3, Eleazar considered requiring a neuropsychiatric exam every three years for all the 220,000 members of the security force. However, this was pointed out by the institution’s head of service’s psychiatry department, Police Lt. Col. Michelle Cruz, by clarifying that the said exam only covers person’s mental fitness and to measure his IQ (intelligence quotient), and EQ (emotional quotient), or emotional intelligence, but cannot detect aggressive behaviors.

In June 2015, the Journal in Behavioral Sciences and the Law suggests that “measures to reduce gun injuries and deaths should focus less on diagnosed mental illness and more on a history of violent behavior.” Though, the study was conducted in the U.S. but the findings are helpful in determining future aggressive and violent behaviors.

Maybe, it is high-time for the security forces to improve its internal mechanism in determining officers who may have aggressive and violent tendencies. By prioritizing the mental health and well-being of its officers, maybe, we’ll never hear any incident where an innocent life was lost due to impulsive show of anger. Maybe, we’ll have more calm and focused police officers during operations who will not kill innocent people like Kian delos Santos. Maybe, we’ll never feel uncomfortable hearing stories like these again.