Napolcom axes cop linked to Tacloban shooting

The National Police Commission (Napolcom) on Wednesday ordered the immediate dismissal of a police staff sergeant whose unsecured service pistol was used by her 14-year-old nephew in a June high school shooting that left three students dead and several others injured in Tacloban City.

The commission’s en banc panel found Police Staff Sgt. Arla Ray O. Paciencia, assigned to the Regional Finance Service Unit 8, guilty of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

The administrative decision stemmed from the 22 June shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.

Commission investigators found that Paciencia, while officially on duty that day, left her government-issued 9mm pistol at home inside a plastic gun box stored in a plastic cabinet, violating police regulations requiring service weapons to be locked in an approved safety vault.

The agency ruled that Paciencia’s gross negligence directly led to the weapon falling into minor hands and initiating the chain of events behind the campus shooting.

Panel members rejected defense arguments citing her career commendations, ruling that past public safety awards underscored the higher standard of care expected of her rather than mitigating her administrative liability.

The dismissal penalty includes the forfeiture of all retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

“The unfortunate events in Tacloban and other parts of the country underscore the urgent need for stricter accountability,” Napolcom Commissioner Rafael Vicente R. Calinisan said.

“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,” he added.