The Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the petition filed
by a police officer in connection with the alleged “Atimonan Shootout” which
killed 13 persons in Quezon province last year.
In a 12-page ruling written by Associate Justice Isaias
Dicdican, the CA’s Special 11th Division denied for lack of merit the amended
petition for certiorari filed by Supt. Ramon Balauag seeking to annul and set
aside the resolution issued by Gumaca, Quezon Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch
61 Judge Maria Chona Pulgar-Navarro, which inter alia, denied his motion for
judicial determination of probable cause.
“The Resolution that was issued by the [RTC] is hereby
affirmed…dated September 20, 2013 and the Motion for Reconsideration and
Supplement Motion for Reconsideration dated September 23, 2013 and October 24,
2013, respectively, that were filed by [the] petitioner…” the CA ruling dated
Nov. 28, 2014 said.
Concurring in the ruling were Associate Justices Amy
Lazaro-Javier and Victoria Isabel Paredes.
Records show that several persons, known as the “Siman
Group”, were involved in alleged illegal gambling, illegal drugs, gun-for-hire
and other criminal activities in the Southern Luzon
area.
With the objective of neutralizing the group, “Coplan
Armado” was conceptualized in order to conduct surveillance and covert
operations on the group.
Supt. Hansel Marantan, Deputy Chief of the Regional
Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office 4-A, allegedly received on
Jan. 5, 2013 an information that a convoy of four vehicles without registration
plates carrying 15 to 20 fully-armed men would be passing through the Maharlika
Highway on their way to Camarines province.
At about 1 p.m. of Jan. 6, 2013, three checkpoints were
established along the highway, Barangay Lumutan, Atimonan, Quezon by a joint
police and army forces that was headed by Marantan, Balauag, Chief of the
Provincial Intelligence Branch of the Quezon Provincial Police Office; Chief
Insp. Grant Gollod, Chief of Police of Atimonan; and Lt. Col. Monico Abang,
Battalion Commander of the First Special Forces Battalion of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP).
According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), the two
Mitsubishi Montero SUVs did not slow down when they were apprehended and,
instead, opened fire on the police operatives who were manning the checkpoint,
prompting the joint forces to retaliate, thereby killing all of the 13
occupants of the two SUVs.
Marantan was allegedly wounded during the encounter.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended on Aug. 30, 2013
that charges for multiple murders be filed against several PNP officials and
personnel, including Balauag, who had allegedly participated in the alleged
“shootout.”
The RTC issued a warrant of arrest against them after
finding probable cause on the basis of information that was filed by the DOJ.
Balauag sought for recall of the warrant of arrest and for
re-examination of the pieces of evidence in the case, but was denied by the
RTC.
This prompted him to seek redress before the CA.
The CA said that “there was no hint of whimsicality nor
gross and patent abuse of discretion on the part of the lower court as would
amount to an evasion of a positive duty or a virtual refusal to perform a duty
enjoined by law or to act at all in contemplation of law.”
“Per contra, the lower court, in resolving the aforesaid
motions, applied the basic precepts of law to the facts, allegations and
evidence on record,” it said.
The CA added that “the grounds that were relied upon by
[Balauag] for the recall of the warrant of arrest that was issued against him
and for the judicial determination of probable cause clearly involved factual
disputes which are best ventilated in a full blown trial.”
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=713904
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