The Department of Justice has recommended the filing of charges against Police Staff Sergeant Arla Ray Pacencia in connection with the June school shooting in Tacloban City that killed three students.
The DOJ said the Office of the City Prosecutor of Tacloban City has issued a resolution following the preliminary investigation that began in July. This came after inquest proceedings conducted by the prosecutor’s office on June 24.
The recommended charge is reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and physical injuries.
Pacencia owns the PNP-issued service firearm used by his 14-year-old nephew in the school shooting. During the proceedings, Pacencia admitted that he had taken his nephew to a firing range because the teenager reportedly wanted to become a police officer like him.
According to Atty. Martinez, the case will be filed before the Family Court of the Tacloban City Regional Trial Court.
The DOJ said the case will undergo the proper legal process.
The recommendation concerns Pacencia’s ownership of the service firearm used in the shooting and follows the prosecutor’s resolution on the incident.
