I’M referring to the late Police Officer 2 Bernardo Quintero of the Quezon City Police District, who was killed while conducting an operation against illegal firecracker dealers Thursday last week, and Police Officer 2 Randy de la Rea, a Cavite cop who emerged a real-life hero when he saved more than a dozen people in Iligan City last December 17.

Let’s also honor the memories of the late Insp. Charlito Penuliar and Senior Police Officer 1 Charlon Edrote who were both swept away by rampaging waters and drowned at the height of the massive flooding that struck Northern Mindanao before Christmas.

Lest I forget, we should also remember the hundreds of policemen who chose to spend their Christmas and New Year in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City, far  away from their families in order to press the search for the missing Sendong victims and help affected residents continue with their lives.

They include officers from the PNP Health Service and the Crime Laboratory who form the PNP Disaster Victim Identification teams tasked to brave the foul smell of death in the region to identify victims before they are buried in mass graves.

As PNP chief, Gen. Nick Bartolome had said, these incidents should not dampen the spirit of the police as it is a reality in the service that their  lives are always at risk, particularly in situations like the aftermath of Sendong and while in the performance of duty.

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The heroism displayed by these unsung heroes overshadowed a few rotten eggs that have shamed the police force during the Yuletide season.

One of them is PO1 Faizal Mala, a member of the Lanao del Sur police  and confessed owner of an illegal firecracker store in North Fairview who has been identified as one of the gunmen who killed PO2 Quintero. PO1 Mala is now facing charges for murder, frustrated murder for the shooting of PO2 Jessie Adajar, illegal possession of firearms and violation of Republic Act 7183 or the firecrackers law.

There are also four other rookie policemen, PO 1 Lloyd Fernandez of the National Capital Region Police Office, PO1 Fulgencio Sideco of the Manila Police District, PO1 Raymond Pascua of the PNP Crime Laboratory, and  PO1 Cyril de Gracia of the Cordillera Police who got involved in separate cases of indiscriminate firing in Manila and are now in jail facing the dim prospect of being fired from the service. A fifth, PO2 Efren Dimaiwat, is still being sought for his involvement in an indiscriminate firing incident last week .

My friend, Manila Police District director, soon-to-be Chief Supt.  Alex Gutierrez said Fernandez is the pinakasiga among the four rookie cops.

Gutierrez told me that the 30-year- old Fernandez of the NCRPO Regional Public Safety Battalion was arrested by his men shortly after he went on a shooting spree in Sampaloc, Manila on Christmas Eve, killing Roberto Solis and injuring Jay Valenzuela and Richard Zapanta. Fernandez was said to be drunk when he shot the victims following an argument.

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The case of the 42-year-old PO2 De la Rea showcases what good training and experience can do when disaster strikes. De la Rea was in the wrong place in the right time when floodwaters destroyed hundreds of houses in Iligan City last December 17.

The member of the Imus Municipal Police Station in Cavite saved at least 17 people, including his 28-year- old and five-month pregnant wife Camella and 30-month-old daughter Ella Mae, from the cold grip  of death when he led them one by one to the safety of a sturdy mango tree which which withstood the force of rampaging floodwaters for hours until the next morning.

It was pitch black then as electricity had been cut off, but the cop, his family, and the people he rescued clung to dear life for hours while hearing the sound of logs smashing into houses a few meters away from his in-laws’ residence.

In the morning, the survivors became witness to the presence of dozens of floating dead bodies and animal carcasses.

De la Rea’s presence of mind really saved lives, including that of his family and his own.

General Bartolome said De la Rea and other members of the force involved in rescue and retrieval operations in Northern Mindanao as well as the thousands who helped keep the streets safe during the holidays will be given appropriate awards.

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Shocking GMA-7 video

A GMA-7 exclusive video showing a group of men mauling and shooting a teenager near the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Sta. Cruz, Manila last Sunday really shook me.

“Where were the cops, the barangay security men?” I asked myself after seeing the video which ran for minutes.

I later realized that dozens of people were watching from the sidewalks as the suspects were ganging up on the hapless victim. The whole scene was caught on video by the GMA-7 cameraman, but I never heard him, his reporter or any person in the area shout for help.

All they did was to watch the attack and film it like what a National Geographic cameraman would do in filming a herd of lions or a pack of hyenas kill their preys.

Where were the Good Samaritans then? Were they afraid that the suspects would vent their ire on them? What if that teenager were their son, cousin, a grandchild, a brother-in-law or a best friend?

The last part of the video showed a lone man having the courage to feel the pulse of the victim. He died while being taken to the nearby hospital. Another award-winning GMA-7 video?