Drunk ex-cop kills ma, self

MANILA, Philippines - A dismissed Manila policeman went on a rampage at past noon yesterday, shooting his mother then turning the gun on himself in front of their neighbors in Tondo.

Walter Valdez, 36, had reportedly been drinking since early morning when the incident occurred. He held the rank of Police Officer 1 and was assigned at the Malate police station when he was dropped from the roster of the Philippine National Police in 2009 due to his frequent absences and habitual drinking. Other reports state he had diabetes and a liver ailment.

Police said he has not held a regular job since he was dismissed from the police force. His wife reportedly works at the Manila City Hall and his father is an overseas worker in Saudi Arabia.

According to Police Officer 2 Jupiter Tajonera, Valdez kicked his seven-year-old daughter, Lindsay, when she failed to promptly obey his order for her to buy something at a nearby store after coming home from school.

Valdez’s mother, 65-year-old Warlita, saw what her son did and berated him. The two soon figured in a shouting match, but Warlita backed down and went back to doing the laundry.

Witnesses said Valdez, who kept on cursing his mother, approached her and shot her in the back of the head. Warlita fell face first in a basin of clothes she had been washing.

Valdez then looked for his two children – Lindsay and Webster, 9 – shouting at them and telling them, “I will kill all of you.” His wife was at work at the time.

His two sisters – Ernilita, 39, and Hernalyn, 23, who is pregnant – ran for their lives with Valdez’s two children in tow. Ernilita said they were able to seek refuge at the upper floor of a nearby building.

Failing to find his family and seeing a crowd around him, Valdez reportedly fired a shot into the air before shooting himself in the head. Police recovered the fatal weapon, Valdez’s .9mm service firearm.

Hernalyn told The STAR that her brother was an alcoholic and addicted to methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.

“We were terrified of him, especially when he was drunk or high since he always aimed his gun on us,” she said.