A balikbayan in Talisay, Cebu was killed in a gunshot fired by a policeman on January 17, 2018, inside an eatery.
The family of OFW Jeff Gabutan said he had an argument with the restaurant’s manager due to slow service.
In the CCTV footage that GMA got hold of, the police claimed that Gabutan first fired a gunshot, causing a commotion inside the eatery.
PO1 Erwin Denila, who was in the area with PO1 Romanito Dinapo, said they immediately responded after hearing the gunshot.
Denila claimed that he asked Gabutan to surrender but the latter resisted.
“Sumigaw ako para mag-surrender siya pero hindi nagsalita. ‘Surrender,’ sabi ko patuloy lang siya. Kaya nu’ng paangat na ang kaniyang kamay inunahan ko na. Sobrang lapit na talaga,” Denila said.
In defense, the police said his response was part of police’s standard operational procedures as his life, at that time, was at risk.
Supt. Jason Villamater, OIC of Talisay City Police, also said that he doesn’t see any violation on the part of the policemen. Instead, he told the media that Denila was given a commendation for his quick response to the incident.
Meanwhile, Gabutan’s family wanted to push through an investigation.
The victim was a nurse who just arrived from Canada.
The store manager refused for an interview about the incident.
