THE 13 people killed in an alleged shootout in Quezon were deliberately mowed down inside their vehicles by policemen and soldiers jointly manning a checkpoint, witnesses and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Thursday. “Definitely, not a shootout,” de Lima said when asked by reporters if the incident in Atimonan, Quezon, was a shootout as alleged by the involved policemen and soldiers, headed by Supt. Hansel Marantan.
De Lima, agents and officials of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and some individuals, who witnessed the incident, went to Quezon and re-enacted the incident. The re-enactment was joined by soldiers. The witnesses, who are now in the custody of the NBI, have been admitted into the government’s witness protection program.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) is set to file obstruction of justice and insubordination charges against Marantan. Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., National Police spokesman, said the continued non-cooperation by Marantan to the National Police’s fact-finding team is tantamount to unduly withholding the truth behind the death of 13 persons in the Atimonan incident on January 6. “The National Police is duty-bound to provide the public with a reasonable explanation of the actions of all police personnel involved in the incident, Marantan included,” Cerbo said in a statement.
It is precisely the objective of the fact-finding team under the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) to determine whether violations of policy, particularly the Police Operational Procedures (POP) were violated in the incident, he said. “Much as the personnel involved rightfully deserve due process and the benefit of the doubt under the presumption of regularity in the performance of duty, Marantan’s continued refusal to give his statement and turnover evidence to DIDM investigators constitute obstruction of justice and outright insubordination,” Cerbo said.
“In this case, Marantan is now deemed as having waived his right to present his side. From here, the National Police will now initiate procedural actions to determine the administrative culpability of all parties concerned. “We leave it to the DOJ [Department of Justice]-NBI to complete the criminal aspect of investigation for prosecution. Rest asured the PNP will cooperate fully with the DOJ-NBI in this case,” Cerbo added.
During the re-enactment, the witnesses, whose identities the NBI refused to disclose, claimed there had been no checkpoint as claimed by the soldiers and policemen and that the checkpoint sign was only put up after the carnage had been committed. The witnesses recalled that a lone military truck blocked the path of the two Mitsubishi Montero sports-utility vehicles bearing alleged gambling lord Vic Siman and his group that included three soldiers and three policemen, including Supt. Alfredo Consemino.
Two soldiers approached the first vehicle and ordered its occupants to get off, but the occupants of the Montero did not budge, prompting the soldiers and policemen to shoot the vehicle. The witnesses heard the first volley of fire lasting for about 20 seconds. After the firing had ceased, a single shot was heard from inside the first vehicle before two of its occupants, Tirso Lontok and Jimbeam Justiniano, came out of the vehicle.
But the witnesses said the two victims were ignored, as they heard somebody from the blocking team ordered the troops to continue shooting, this time, including the second vehicle. The second volley of fire lasted for about 10 seconds.
The claims of the witnesses belied photographs that were taken by policemen from the scene of the crime several hours after the incident, showing at least two of the occupants of the two vehicles, managed to run a few meters away from their Monteros and traded shots with the checkpoint personnel.
Investigators, even from the National Police, hinted earlier that the bodies of all the victims could have been fixed in order to make it appear that they really traded shots, altering the evidence. NBI investigators also initially believed that some of the guns taken from the victims could have been either planted or deliberately fired after the killing had already taken place.
On Wednesday all of the policemen involved in the incident went to the NBI, which is investigating the incident, supposedly to give their side. But the policemen, headed by relieved Police Regional Office 4 director Chief Supt. James Melad, did not submit affidavits, saying they would only do so after reading the results of the report of the National Police fact-finding body that initially looked into the incident.
Although Melad was not involved in the alleged shootout, he was relieved of his post based on the principles of command responsibility. Other police officials, including Senior Supt. Valeriano de Leon, Quezon police director, were also temporarily taken out of their posts.
Melad said they will only submit their affidavits if they have already seen the fact-finding team report. He maintained the incident was a shootout, as claimed by his men. He also said the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission knew the operation, and the only thing the agency did not approve was its funding.
The Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command chief, Major Gen. Alan Luga, on other hand, said the soldiers—25 members of the Army’s First Special Forces Battalion—involved in the incident claimed it was a shootout. Both Melad and Luga said they support and will cooperate with the ongoing NBI investigation. They also promised the cooperation of their men.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.