Roxas City PNP justifies not bringing shooting victim to hospital

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Sprawled in the middle of the road and with a gunshot wound on her back, a 27-year-old woman was no longer taken to the hospital and was even untouched by the Capiz Forensic Unit for investigation.

Could Shella Mae Dulla have survived the incident had she been taken to the hospital?

The question might be moot and academic with Dulla now dead after she was shot around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 along the national highway at Barangay Adlawan, Roxas City, Capiz.

Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Paguia, Roxas City police chief, narrated that when police investigators arrived, members of the Capiz Emergency Response Team (CERT) were already in the area.

The police report stated that “the CERT first responders conducted an assessment on the victim and there was no vital sign. Duty investigators requested the Capiz Forensic Unit for processing of the crime scene.”

Policemen did not insist on doing otherwise since medical personnel, who should have taken the woman to the hospital, declared that she was lifeless.

When asked if there is any CERT member who is a registered physician, Paguia said there might be none at the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, Barangay Captain Freddie dela Rosa of Adlawan village said that he and some of Dulla’s relatives immediately travelled to Roxas City when they learned that she was shot.

When they arrived, they saw the presence of CERT personnel and policemen.

They even asked that the victim be taken to the hospital but were told to just wait for the SOCO team.

They were not allegedly told right away that the victim was already dead because Dulla’s body was on the pavement.

Meanwhile, Paguia said the motive of the killing could be work-related, but he did not elaborate further.

Dulla, 27, a resident of Barangay Tabuc Norte, Panitan, Capiz had also told her family that she was at odds with a workmate at a cooking oil distribution company.

The victim came from work and was on her way home when she was shot at close range by a motorcycle-riding suspect.

She suffered three gunshot injuries on her back.

The youngest in a brood of eight, the victim is one of their family’s breadwinners.