The bullets recovered from the scene of the violent dispersal that killed three in Kidapawan City weren't fired from any of the guns submitted by the anti-riot policemen for ballistics examination, police officials told the Senate on Wednesday.
The results of the ballistics examination were presented to the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights by Senior Superintendent Alejandro Gunao, chief of the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory in Region 12.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano asked Gunao what the basis was for his conclusion that the bullets did not come from the firearms of the police when there was a video footage showing policemen holding rifles that looked like M-16s.
Gunao pointed again to the result of ballistic examination.
"Yun po yung resulta ng ballistic examination, ng mga firearm examiner," Gunao said.
Human rights groups have pointed out that three persons succumbed to gunshot wounds while scores of others required hostpital treatment for similar injuries.
Relieved Cotabato police chief Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum said he never ordered his men to fire on protesters, some of them throwing rocks and pieces of wood at anti-riot policemen.
Instead, Tagum said the militants could have killed the casualties as they have a witness who allegedly saw some protesters carrying guns.
“Meron pong witness kaming nakakita na may mga nasa linya ng raliyitsa na may mga hawak na baril at pumuputok sa linya po ng mga kapulisan," Tagum said.
A lawyer for the protesting farmers shrugged off the PNP report.
"Pinakalumang storya na po yan na sinasabi lagi na merong baril sa mga raliyista, panahon pa ni (former President Ferdinand) Marcos 'yan," said National Union of People's Lawyers assistant secretary general for legal services Ephraim Cortez.
Cortez also noted that police immediately cordoned and destroyed potential evidence in the protest site following the incident.
To bolster police claims that there were armed protesters, the PNP said 16 out of 30 farmers who were subjected to paraffin test yielded positive results for gunpowder residue on their hands.
But forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun questioned the reliability of paraffin test, which she said was already discouraged by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) since 1968.
"The paraffin test was absolutely worthless. It does not distinguish a shooter from non-shooter at all. It is supported by scientific literature that goes all the way back to 1967. In 1968, it was junked by no less than the Interpol," she said.
She said other countries are now using scanning electron microscope for gunshot residue analysis.
"In other countries, they are using the scanning electron microscope. This is supposed to detect trace elements, metals in very very small quantities: antimony, barium and lead. It's very objective. You have to not just determine the presence of these metals but also quantify. And the paraffin test is so subjective," Fortun said.
Fortun was at the hearing to present her findings that two of the caualties died from gunshot wounds.
The forensic expert's findings were contrary to death certificates indicating that one died of blunt trauma to the forehead while the other died of heat stroke.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.