The entire province of Negros Occidental is currently gripped by a tragedy that has sent shockwaves through the community and across social media platforms. It is a crime rooted in forbidden love, infidelity, and an irreparable mistake.

The victim was Christine Joy Dignadise, a 42-year-old devoted mother and former nurse who had successfully transitioned into business as a freelance cosmetics agent.

The alleged perpetrator is a police officer, a man who swore an oath to enforce the law and protect the citizens, but who, in this instance, is accused of violating his sacred vow.

Christine Joy, a resident of Kanetown Subdivision in Victorias City, was a BS Nursing graduate who worked in a hospital and served on the front lines during the pandemic.

However, she later left nursing to focus on her cosmetics business. Those who knew her described Christine Joy as kind, cheerful, easygoing, and humble.

She was once in a relationship that resulted in the birth of her son, but the couple eventually separated. Despite the pain of the breakup, she bravely rose above it and became a stronger single mother, dedicated to raising her son properly.

Her life was quiet and happy, centered around her son and her parents. Every effort she made was focused on securing a bright future for her child and supporting her family, including providing educational assistance to her nephew.

Due to her diligence, she was able to purchase her own car, a Hyundai Accent. This car, however, would tragically become the silent witness to her gruesome death.

In her neighborhood, Christine Joy was known as an attentive and generous neighbor. According to her Barangay Captain, she had no known enemies and no history of disputes or complaints registered with the local authorities.

The community was shocked and mystified when she suddenly vanished without a trace. No one could believe that a person like her would fall victim to such violence.

On the early morning of October 29, Christine Joy left home alone in her gray Hyundai Accent, informing her family she had errands to run. Her family stated that everything seemed normal, with no indications of any underlying problem.

However, by the afternoon, she was unreachable. She stopped answering calls and messages, disappearing without a trace.

Just before 4:00 p.m., a call was received by the Hinigaran Police Station. A concerned citizen reported an abandoned vehicle in a vast sugar cane plantation not far from the highway in Sitio So, Barangay Gargato, Hinigaran town, in the same province.

Police immediately responded and found the gray Hyundai Accent. They noticed the glass on the driver’s side window was either shattered or had a hole.

Upon opening and inspecting the interior, they were confronted with a horrifying sight: a significant amount of blood, particularly near the handbrake. Personal belongings were also left behind, suggesting the owner might have been headed to the beach.

However, the police observed no shattered glass fragments outside the car, indicating the vehicle had been driven there and that the damage and bloody interior pointed to a serious incident involving injury or worse.

It was a complete mystery at the time who owned the car and what had transpired. During the investigation, police recovered the car’s registration papers and a copy of the driver’s permit.

Verification revealed the car was registered to a woman from Iloilo, who had since sold it to the businesswoman, Christine Joy Dignadise. The police immediately informed her family, who, by then, had already seen photos of the car posted on social media and recognized both the vehicle and the belongings inside.

Panic and fear quickly replaced the quiet anticipation in their home. Her son asked where his mother was, but no one could answer.

The family’s pleas for information quickly spread across social media, accompanied by her photograph, hoping someone might have seen her.

As hours passed, their anxiety intensified. They desperately prayed that Christine Joy was safe and that the blood did not belong to her. Her cell phone could not be traced, and no one could confirm where she was last seen.

The next day, October 30, a man knocked on Christine Joy’s door shortly after 8:00 a.m. According to her nephew, they opened the door and spoke with the man, who introduced himself as Christine Joy’s boyfriend.

The family was surprised, as she had never mentioned or introduced a boyfriend to them. Despite their surprise, they respectfully accommodated him, even making him a cup of coffee.

During their conversation, they noticed what appeared to be a gun bulging from his waist. It was then they realized the man was a police officer.

He told them he was looking for Christine Joy, having heard she was missing, which prompted his visit. He recounted that they had planned to meet the morning before the car was found, as she wanted him to accompany her on an errand, but he was on duty and could not join her.

He claimed that was their last communication. The conversation ended with the family still searching for Christine Joy.

Meanwhile, the police relentlessly pursued their investigation. They reviewed CCTV footage from the routes Christine Joy’s car had taken, from Victorias to Barangay Granada in Bacolod City, where the police officer was stationed, and through other towns leading up to Hinigaran, where the car was discovered.

They soon gathered leads and identified a person of interest they closely monitored. One thing was clear to the authorities: the car had been deliberately abandoned to mislead the investigation.

But who possessed the capacity and nerve to execute such a cover-up? Two days passed without any sign of Christine Joy’s body, deepening her family’s distress.

Then, on the night of October 31, an unexpected event changed the direction of the case. A man contacted the regional director of the Police Regional Office of Negros, Police General Arnold Thomas Ibay.

The general answered the unsaved number and received devastating news. The caller revealed a dark secret that shocked everyone.

He claimed that the missing Christine Joy was dead and that he knew the location of her body. The general advised him to come to his office immediately to disclose everything he knew.

The following morning, November 1—All Souls’ Day—the man arrived, dressed quietly in black, accompanied by his lawyer and a fellow police officer. The man was identified as Police Staff Sergeant Enrique Gonzalodo Jr., a police mobile patroller assigned to Police Station 5 of the Bacolod City Police Office.

He was also the man who had visited Christine Joy’s house and introduced himself as her boyfriend while she was still missing. Now, we recognize the man behind the uniform.

Sergeant Gonzalodo Jr. is married with two children and has served the police force for over ten years. To many of his colleagues, he was a good, quiet, and responsible officer.

However, on that day, a different Enrique Gonzalodo faced the officials—a man gripped by a conscience and fear. In the presence of the Regional Director and his lawyer, Gonzalodo confessed to being the last person with Christine Joy before her disappearance.

While he did not directly admit to the killing, his statement that he knew the location of the body was sufficient for investigators to conclude his involvement. He voluntarily surrendered and offered to lead them to the place where he had hidden Christine Joy’s remains.

That same morning, after giving his sworn statement, Gonzalodo, accompanied by the Regional Director, the Provincial Director, other police officers, and media, drove to a vast sugar cane plantation in Hacienda Weaver, Barangay George L. Araneta, Bago City, about 20 kilometers away.

There, in the middle of the crops, not far from the road, the decomposing body of Christine Joy was found. Her lower garments were down, and she lay on the ground, showing clear signs of decomposition.

Her face was almost unrecognizable due to the condition of the body. The Soco team processed the crime scene and transported the body to the laboratory for examination.

According to the PNP forensic unit’s medico-legal officer, she had been dead for two to five days. A single gunshot entrance wound to the right shoulder, which exited through the neck, was determined to be the cause of death.

The watch she was wearing was recovered and later identified by her 10-year-old son. However, her three cell phones and other personal belongings were missing.

When the heartbreaking news reached her family, any lingering hope of finding her alive vanished. Their grief intensified when they learned that the person who admitted involvement in Christine Joy’s death had visited their home, been politely welcomed, and offered coffee after the incident.

The family’s anguish was profound. In an instant, their lives were irrevocably changed, especially for her son, who had lost his mother.

Sergeant Gonzalodo claimed the shooting was accidental. He recounted meeting Christine Joy after his duty on the morning of October 29. She allegedly asked him to accompany her to meet a buyer for her car, as she planned to upgrade.

While inside the Hyundai Accent, which Christine Joy was driving in Talisay City, they had a heated argument. He claimed his girlfriend reached for his service firearm, which was placed between them near the handbrake, and he tried to stop her.

During the struggle, the gun allegedly discharged, hitting Christine Joy in the shoulder and exiting through her neck, shattering the side window. Paralyzed by fear and panic, he drove the car approximately 30 km to Bago City.

He pulled his girlfriend’s bloody body out and dragged her to the exact spot where she was later found. He then drove another 30 km to Hinigaran, where he abandoned the car, possibly to mislead the investigation.

Afterward, he took a bus back to Bacolod City and pretended that nothing had happened. However, investigators found Gonzalodo’s version of events highly implausible, raising numerous questions.

If it was an accident, why didn’t he rush her to the hospital? Why did he hide the body? Why did he separate the location where he left the car from where he left the body? And why did he wait three days before surrendering?

These questions opened the door to a deeper inquiry. The news sparked widespread public outrage, with the public rejecting the suspect’s alibi, convinced the incident was premeditated murder, not an accident.

The Regional Director himself suggested that Gonzalodo likely sensed the investigation was closing in, prompting his surrender in the hope of mitigating his case.

Local officials expressed disappointment. Congressman Benitez called for a swift and transparent investigation.

Christine Joy’s barangay demanded Gonzalodo’s immediate relief from duty and the formation of a special investigation task group, including the NBI and CHR, to ensure fairness.

The spokesperson for the police in Negros confirmed that even with Gonzalodo’s confession, they would continue to seek evidence and not rely solely on his statements.

Further investigation and Gonzalodo’s admission revealed he and Christine Joy had maintained a three-year secret relationship, which began when he was assigned to Victorias City.

It started as a simple friendship that escalated into forbidden love. It remains unclear if Christine Joy knew he was married.

The police officer claimed their relationship was fine from the start, even while he was still living with his wife. However, he has not yet disclosed the core reason for the “heated argument” on the day of the incident.

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office Director, Colonel Weslao, confirmed the relationship, possibly based on evidence or the suspect’s statement, concluding the crime originated from a Lover’s Quarrel—a forbidden relationship that ended tragically.

As the case unfolds, two families endure immense suffering. Christine Joy’s family, who lost a mother, daughter, and pillar of support, continues to demand justice.

Her 10-year-old son cries nightly, still waiting for his mother’s embrace. Meanwhile, Gonzalodo’s family, quietly wounded and ashamed, struggles with the news.

His wife cannot believe the man she married and the father of her children was unfaithful and capable of such a heinous crime. In an instant, two lives were destroyed: a mother killed, and the killer himself.

Authorities suspect this was a crime of passion, a crime fueled by extreme emotions, jealousy, anger, and betrayal. Christine Joy may have wanted to end the relationship, but instead of accepting it, Gonzalodo allegedly chose a bloody conclusion.

However, all of this remains speculation, as only he is left to tell his version. Sergeant Gonzalodo is currently detained by the CIDG and faces a non-bailable murder charge.

If convicted, he could face life imprisonment. He also faces administrative charges and the process of being dismissed from service.

Yet, no punishment will bring back Christine Joy, nor erase the image of a police officer turning into a murderer from the public consciousness.

This crime has reopened the wounds on the image of the police force. In times when the public needs trust in the law, one of its members utterly betrayed the principle of service.

It is a profound reminder that sin, no matter how deeply hidden, will eventually be exposed. Infidelity to a spouse, family, and sworn duty will inevitably lead to an inescapable penalty.