The white coffin of slain Police Staff Sergeant Alfredo Pagaling is draped in Philippine flag at his wake held in his house in Barangay Vito, Minglanilla, Cebu. Pagaling was killed by motorcycle-riding men pre-dawn of Sept. 1, 2019. |CDND Photo/ Alven Marie Timtim
MINGLANILLA, Cebu, Philippines — “Nangita gyud mig hustisya.”
For Milagrosa Pagaling, 54, wife of slain Police Staff Sergeant Alfredo Pagaling, this call was both a demand and a hope.
Pagaling, the team leader of the mobile patrol unit of the Minglanilla Municipal Police Station, was driving a police patrol car and had stopped in front of a convenience store along National Road, Barangay Lipata, Minglanilla Cebu at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 31, 2019, when shot twice by motorcycle-riding men, one of which hit him in the head, killing him instantly.
“Among panawagan, ang naka buhat unta ani ba madakpan. Nangita gyud kog hustisya kay dako kaayo ilahang gi kuha nako,” Milagrosa told CDN Digital at her husband’s wake at their house in Barangay Vito of Minglanilla town.
(We hope that the person who did this will be caught. I want justice for the life that was taken from me.)
Milagrosa narrated how everything still felt unreal, even the sight of the flag-draped white coffin that her husband was lying in.
Not only was she trying to cope with the sudden loss of a husband, she was also still trying to grasp the reality that she is now left alone to care for their seven children, the youngest of whom is only 15 years old.
Their oldest child, 26-year-old Analyn, is currently working as an overseas Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia. She will be coming home in time for her father’s burial on September 8.
The other children — Angelyn, 24; Almera, 23; Aljon, 22; Alexa, 21; Amilyn, 17; and Alijandra, 15 — were also having a hard time dealing with their father’s death, added Milagrosa.
She said she was still at loss as to who would want her husband dead because out of all the people she had known, her husband was the kindest. Even when money was tight at times because there were nine of them in the family, her husband was still able to lend some to those who would visit their house for help.
“Daghan paman gani tawo mo duol niya unya siya pa gyud nahitaboan ani,” said Milagrosa.
(There were a lot of people who asked help from him but in the end this still happened to him.)
Milagrosa said she was greatly saddened that her husband’s death came at a time when he was making plans
for their family’s future after his retirement.
She said her husband was only 52 years old, or four years short of the mandated retirement from the Philippine National Police, but had already filed his paper for an early retirement and was just waiting for an approval from the PNP.
But all future plans were now in limbo and Milagrosa could only hope for nothing but finding justice for her husband’s death.
Police Master Sergeant Gilmer Noval, the case investigator, said they have hired an information technology (IT) specialist to enhance the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage they have obtained from establishments close to where Pagaling was shot dead.
“Usa ni sya sa mga initiative sa atoa nga chief of police (This was one of the initiatives of our chief of police), he added.
Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director, told CDN Digital by phone on Sunday that he was directly supervising the progress of the case.
Mariano vowed they would not stop until they will be able to identify and apprehend the suspects.
“Continuous pa rin yun ating hot pursuit operation (Our hot pursuit operation is continuous),” said Mariano. /elb