PO3 Julius Regis was not thinking about cash rewards when he saw an ongoing robbery inside a passenger jeepney just as he was heading home.
The 39-year-old Regis said he saw his mother in the elderly robbery victim who was shaking in fear as she recounted her experience to him.
“Pagkakita nako sa nawong sa tiguwang, nakahuna-huna kos akong mama. Kung mahitabo pod ni niya, kinsa may motabang? Unya police ko, naa ko sa area, insulto kaayo kung dili ko moresponde sa alarma (The moment I saw the face of the woman who was robbed, I thought of my mother. If this happened to her, who would help her? And knowing that I am a police officer, it would be of great insult if I don’t do anything),” said Regis in a phone interview with Cebu Daily News.
Regis said he was heading home to catch some sleep before a court hearing at 1:30 p.m. last Tuesday when he witnessed the jeepney heist.
“I was at the side of the road while waiting for the stoplight. I noticed a commotion at a jeepney so I approached the passengers afterwards. When I learned that it was a robbery, I left to chase the suspects,” Regis said in Cebuano.
Regis said he saw the face of the elderly woman trembling in shock and fear while holding her four-year-old grandchild.
“Tiguwang na man pod akong mama gud, hilig pod to mangompra sa Carbon unya sakay lang og jeep. Kung imoha tong mama, di nimo to tabangan? (My mother has gained age, she is fond of going to Carbon to buy vegetables for her store. If it were your mother, will you not help?),” Regis said.
The third child of four siblings, Regis said he was raised by his 70-year-old mother Rosalita ever since his father Joselito died of cancer at 49 years of age. Regis was 17 years old when he lost his father.
He said his mother pushed him to finish his criminology course at the University of Cebu and he eventually became a police officer in 2004.
On learning about the robbery, Regis chased down the suspects.
“It was a call of duty, it so happened that I was there. It would be shameful if I ignored it,” Regis said.
Regis shot Arman de la Peña who is recovering from his gunshot wounds along with his cohort Nestor Benavente at a hospital.
But the driver of the getaway motorcycle managed to escape.
Stolen items owned by the victims were recovered including a child’s knapsack and P20,000 worth of jewelry.
“I’d rather keep quiet because the others had a different understanding of what happened. For me, if there was a bounty I won’t receive it, but if there’s nothing then let’s continue doing our job,” Regis said.
The shooting incident along Archbishop Reyes Avenue happened a day after Cebu City Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña announced a P50,000 cash reward to police officers who can kill hardened criminals.
In a separate interview, Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, Police Regional Office chief, said police officers should always be prepared in dealing with criminal elements.
He said most of these criminal elements only know “one language and it is violence.”
Comendador earlier welcomed Osmeña’s announcement, saying it is a recognition of the efforts of police officers in fighting crime.
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