GMA orders full honors in burial of slain cop

President Arroyo said yesterday she ordered full honors in the burial of slain Makati City rookie cop PO2 Aristotle Tacata, who died in a shootout with robbers last Wednesday.

The President, who visited the remains of Tacata the other night, said she also ordered Tacata’s promotion to PO2.

"That would be the template for those killed in the line of duty," she said.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) is planning to name a police substation after Tacata to pay tribute for his heroism.

The 27-year-old rookie cop was killed while trying to stop a group of robbers from pulling a heist at the LPC Minimart at the corner of Kalayaan Avenue and Luzon street in Barangay Pitongo, Makati City. The NCRPO has launched a massive manhunt for his killers.

Metro police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, in his eulogy delivered during Tacata’s wake, said the heroism of the law enforcer, "shall always serve as an inspiration and motivation to all."

He explained that naming a police sub-station in Makati City after Tacata will be "a fitting tribute to perpetuate his bravery, gallantry, and heroism."

Velasco said Tacata’s courageous act of singlehandedly fighting off a group of hoodlums and laying down his life in the line of duty brought pride and honor to the Philippine National Police (PNP), particularly the NCRPO.

"It was Tacata’s finest hour," Velasco said, adding that Tacata should not only be remembered as a heroic cop but as the epitome of the new breed of cops in Metro Manila: Brave, decent, dignified, and ready to die for his country.

Tacata’s death came two days after the PNP symbolically inducted its youngest member, six-year-old leukemia-stricken Joe Allan Mendoza.

"There was no doubt it was Jam-Jam who inspired Aristotle, as well as other members of the PNP, to be proud of their career as policemen, ready to fight the criminals and protect the people," Velasco said.