FALSE: Nuezca freed due to lack of evidence

At a glance:

• Claim: Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca has been released from detention due to insufficient evidence.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: The video attached to the claim is misrepresented. It matched a video report about the suspects in the death of Christine Dacera, which was another incident all together.
• Why we fact-checked this: This claim was emailed by readers for verification.

Complete details:

The website gmaupdateph.xyz falsely claimed that Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca has been released due to insufficient evidence.

Nuezca shot and killed Sonya and Frank Gregorio in Tarlac on December 20. The incident sparked outrage after a video of the shooting went viral. He is now detained at the Paniqui Municipal Jail.

The page making the false claim bore the GMA News logo and contained the headline: “BREAKING: PULIS NA PUMATAY SA MAG-INA SA TARLAC, PINALAYA NA DAHIL UMANO SA KAKULANGAN NG EBIDENSYA.” (Breaking: Policeman who shot mother and son in Tarlac released due to insufficient evidence.)

It embedded a video with a thumbnail that says, “JONEL NUEZCA PINALAYA NA.” (Jonel Nuezca has been freed.)

This claim was emailed by readers for verification.

The claim is false. The embed leads to a YouTube video entitled “badtrip” uploaded by a channel named Ronald Mcdonald. The 7-second clip matches a portion of a GMA News video report entitled, “UB: 3 suspek sa pagkamatay ni Christine Dacera, pinalaya dahil sa kakulangan umano ng ebidensya.” (UB: 3 suspects in the death of Christine Dacera released due to insufficient evidence.)

Dacera, a 23-year-old flight attendant, was found dead in a Makati hotel on January 1. Police initially labeled the case a “rape-slay” but have yet to provide sufficient evidence. On January 6, Makati Assistant City Prosecutor Joan Bolina-Santillan ordered 3 suspects freed from police custody.

Meanwhile, there have been no news reports that say Nuezca has been released. According to a January 5 report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Debold Sinas said that the PNP Internal Affairs Service was conducting summary dismissal proceedings against Nuezca and is targeting a resolution by “Monday next week.”

Rappler also previously debunked a claim that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the death penalty for Nuezca. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

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