No place to bury a hero

He deserved a hero’s burial, but ironically he still has no resting place.

This is the dilemma of the family and colleagues of Senior Police Officer 2 Jess Valera who was gunned down three days ago by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Ermita, Manila.

His family, to their consternation, have been having difficulty looking for a place for interment.

They want Valera buried at Manila North Cemetery which has a section exclusively for Manila police officers.

However, the family was informed by the local government that there is no more space for Valera there, according to Chief Inspector Dominador Arevalo Jr., chief of the Theft and Robbery Section of the Manila Police District where Valera was detailed. Arevalo said he is now negotiating with the management of the Manila South Cemetery for Valera’s burial.

The MPD is now preparing a hero’s burial for their slain colleague, who was killed when he responded to an ambush and was outgunned by six men on three motorcycles.

Meanwhile, "Task Force Valera," a police team leading the investigation, has reportedly identified one of the gunmen, who has a police file photo. However, no other details were provided to the media to avoid jeopardizing efforts to track down the killers.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza had earlier offered a P100,000 reward for information that would lead to the gunmen.

Last Wednesday, Valera was patrolling the southbound lane of Taft Avenue when he heard successive gunshots at around 1 p.m.

He rushed to the scene and found that a gunman and an accomplice on board a motorcycle had ambushed money exchange dealer Leoncio Bernardo, who was then in the driver seat of a Toyota Corolla.

Valera exchanged fire with the gunman, but four more gunmen riding in tandem on two motorcycles joined in the firefight. When it was over, a bloodied Valera was slumped on the pavement. He was rushed to the Philippine General Hospital but died along the way from a gunshot wound on the right side of the body.

Responding policemen failed to catch up with the suspects who sped away towards the direction of Ayala Bridge.

Sheilon Apo, 27, a seaman from Imus, Cavite, took a stray bullet in the chest while on board a passenger bus. He is currently recuperating at Manila Doctors Hospital.

Valera was one of several plainclothes police officers deployed along Taft Avenue to go after muggers, snatchers and robbers to thwart an anticipated upsurge of crime during the holidays. – Nestor Etolle