GUIMARAS – A policeman who went missing after he fell off a patrol boat in Nueva Valencia town in this island province was found dead yesterday, October 18.
The body of Staff Sergeant Mechael Gatinao was found floating in the waters of Sitio Nauai, Barangay Sabang, Sibunag town at around 11:30 a.m.
Reports indicated that Gatinao was with a team conducting seaborne patrol and chasing a boat with illegal fishermen in Barangay Guiuanon, Nueva Valencia when he accidentally fell off the boat on Wednesday night, October 16.
Colonel Rhea Santos, director of the Guimaras Police Provincial Office (GPPO), condoled with the family of the victim.
Lieutenant Colonel Cecilia Hulleza, chief of GPPO’s Personnel and Human Resource Management Unit, said they are extending assistance to Gatinao’s family and help arrange a proper burial.
The 42-year-old Gatinao, a resident of Sitio Serum, Barangay San Nicolas, Buenavista town, spent 16 years in the police service./PN
