Gov. Arthur Yap reports that the chief of police of Carmen town died early morning of July 4, 2020 due to asthma.
The governor’s report did not mention the name of the police official who died from severe asthmatic attack, however, multiple posts on social media and reports on mainstream media identified the late police officer as Major Jodel Torregosa.
According to the governor, the late police official suffered an asthma attack in his home in Buenavista town, and was brought to the Francisco Dagohoy District Hospital in Inabanga town.
The police official was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
The governor said that swab samples were taken from the late police officer and were sent to Cebu for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
The governor said that the swab test is a process to ensure that the death is not Covid related as there is no room for complacency. The swab test was done even if the police official has a history of asthma, and as he was a frontliner, it is only fitting that the late police officer be subjected to a PCR test for good measure.
All police personnel of Carmen police station are isolated, the governor said.
Augmentation forces are now deployed by Col. Joselito Clarito to man the Carmen police station and keep the peace and order of the town.
Related to this, the governor said that the late police official’s home in Buenavista is
under lockdown.
In the same statement from the governor, Yap extended his condolences to the bereaved family of the late police official. The governor cited the late police official’s role as a frontliner in the response to the Covid pandemic, and also for helping keeping the peace and order in his area of responsibility. The governor called Torregosa a “hero” of the province of Bohol.