MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) Consular Office in Paniqui, Tarlac announced that due to some technical issues experienced by the DFA’s Passport Online System, the office conducted adjustments which affected appointments already lodged in the system.

The DFA explained that the glitch caused oversubscribing in the Consular Office Paniqui’s 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM appointment slots.

As a result, the Department has rescheduled the appointments of most of these applicants in the same CO. 

Affected applicants may check their emails for the new appointment allotted by the agency.

Affected applicants are requested to bring a printout of the email along with the application form, e-receipt and other documentary requirements during their new scheduled date.

The Department may also accommodate some of these affected applicants in other Consular Offices next week by emailing the nearest Consular Office listed in the DFA Consular Offices directory with the following information:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Original appointment schedule in CO Paniqui
• Preferred date and time of new appointment

The Department apologizes for the inconvenience this may have caused, and assures the public that the DFA-OCA is continuously working to further improve the delivery of its services to the public. END

Affected applicants who require urgent passport service may contact DFA OCA at the following contact details:

• 0977-353-3942 (Globe)
• 0961-567-9324 (Smart)
• 0961-084-4185 (Smart)

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Debold Sinas on Monday (January 11) announced the dismissal of Police Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca from police service.

Nuezca has been charged with double murder for fatally shooting Sonia Gregorio, 52, and her son, Frank Anthony Gregorio, 25, in Paniqui, Tarlac on December 20 during an altercation over an improvised canon.

Sinas said the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) already approved the dismissal.

“I would like to announce that the admin case of police staff Sgt. Jonel Nuezca is already resolved. He is meted with administrative penalty of dismissal from service effective today (January 11). This was already implemented by the RD NCRPO, Brig. Gen. Vic Danao,” he said.

Meanwhile, the court hearing for the criminal case against Nuezca will continue. Nuezca is currently facing two counts of murder and was already arraigned on January 7. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The next hearing for the case is scheduled for February 4. AAC (with reports from Lea Ylagan)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has reported that the family members of the victims in the Tarlac shooting, as well as the wife and daughter of the cop involved, have received stress debriefing.

Social workers from DSWD Field Office III conducted an initial critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) to the wife and child of Police Staff Sgt. Jonel Nuezca to help them cope with the trauma brought by the unfortunate incident. 

The family members of the victims, Sonia Gregorio and son Frank Anthony, on the other hand, received psychosocial debriefing. 

Other members of the community who witnessed the unfortunate incident will also undergo similar intervention.

CISD is a process that allows survivors of natural and human-induced calamities as well as traumatic incidents to process and help them cope with their traumatic experiences.

The DSWD also said it will continue to monitor the families of the victims and the perpetrator to determine additional appropriate interventions. AAC