‘Like killing an animal, an insect’

MANILA, Philippines — The widow and father of the slain victims of Staff Sgt. Jonel Nuezca has spoken out against the incident, decrying how his family was treated like animals.

“Tingnan ninyo, para lang pumatay ng isang hayop na akala mo insekto yung ginawa niya sa pamilya ko. Yo’n ba ang makatarungan? (It was like he simply killed an animal, an insect, with what he did to my family. Is that justifiable)?” Florentino Gregorio told CNN Philippines.

“Isinama pa niya yung anak niya para makita lang kung paano karumal-dumal na pumatay siya ng tao (He even brought his daughter just to show how grisly it is for him to kill a person),” he added.

In another radio interview, Florentino confirmed that his family and Nuezca had been at odds over a land dispute, and the police officer’s family apparently sued his wife Sonya for estafa.

“Nagdemanda at dinala sa korte, natalo sila. Yun ang di nila matanggap, pagkatalo nila sa korte na wala naman silang ebidensya na nanloko asawa ko (They filed a suit and brought it to court and lost. That’s what they couldn’t accept, their loss in court... that they didn’t have any evidence that my wife ever duped them),” he added.