Who stood to benefit from Atimonan killings?

From Rappler (Mar 6): Who stood to benefit from Atimonan killings?

His involvement in the illegal numbers game jueteng allegedly pushed Supt. Hansel Marantan - the head of the Atimonan checkpoint operation - to hatch a plan that led to the killing of 13 men on January 6.

That, plus intelligence failure, led to the killing of "innocent" victims at a police checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon two months ago.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reached this conclusion in its investigation of the killing of 13 suspected criminal gang members on January 6 in Atimonan, Quezon.

The killings led to the suspension of at least 23 members and officials of the Philippine National Police, including Marantan.

The NBI said that that the supposed encounter in Atimonan - called "Coplan Armado" - was conceived based on intelligence information gathered by Marantan that Vic Siman, the alleged leader of the gang, and his people were members of private armed groups hired by jueteng and drug lords.

"The Atimonan encounter was a well-calculated plan to close the book on Vic Siman under the pretext of Coplan Armado using government forces and resources," the NBI said.

The intelligence was faulty, however, as only Siman was reported to be in the vehicle the police shot at; the authorities failed to verify who the other men in the vehicles were - the victims were aboard two black Montero sports utility vehicles - before they carried out the operation.

The NBI said that Marantan's intelligence, even if accurate, was still doubtful because the victims, if they had intended to carry out criminal activities, should have used unregistered vehicles and unlicensed firearms. The vehicles were registered and all of the firearms were licensed, however, except for one.

Jueteng wars

The NBI also concluded that the "checkpoint" in Atimonan was intended to kill Siman and company because of numerous violations in police operational procedures and Marantan's personal tiff with Siman.

The NBI said that Marantan had the motive to kill Siman because he (Marantan) was the protector of "Ka Tita," Siman's rival in the jueteng operations in Laguna.

Marantan was allegedly called "Bunso" by "Ka Tita" and his live-in partner "Ka Ogie," a retired police officer from the Western Police District.

"Ka Tita" who used to be a club operator in Ermita, Manila, was able to start his video karera operations in Laguna following Marantan's transfer from the Highway Patrol Group in Quezon City to the Laguna Police Station.

Siman - who allegedly started as a video karera operator - then sought the support of other gambling operators in Laguna and also had ties with the "Batang Kubo" criminal syndicate. The hostile rivalry has led to the killing of police operatives in the area.

The NBI said that Siman's death would have benefitted Marantan two ways:

a. The "territorial landscape" of "Ka Tita" would expand as well as her collectors

b. Marantan would have another "feather to his cap" for stopping Siman

Flawed procedures

The NBI said that the checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon, did not conform to PNP operational procedures.

There was no signage at the checkpoint and the policemen were not in prescribed uniform during the operations, which was meant to conceal their identities. No marked PNP vehicle was also used; a Philippine Army truck was parked to block the road.

The PNP's rules of engagement were also violated when the police forcibly opened the windows of the vehicles, pointed their guns at the two vehicles and fired at the men inside.

The NBI added that the crime scene was tampered with, and that there was delay in the turnover of evidence from the PNP's Scene of the Crime Operatives to the NBI.

The NBI said there was also poor handling of evidence by the SOCO as the clothes of the victims were placed in wet bags instead of being preserved or air-dried and that the same group was also inefficient in handling the slugs it recovered.

Witnesses and forensics

The NBI gathered the testimony of 3 principal witnesses and 6 corroborating witnesses.

The 3 principal witnesses were on board a 10-wheeler truck that was stopped at the second checkpoint.

The witnesses had aliases to protect their identity.

"Johnny Parcon Ocampo" said that the authorities flagged down the Montero vehicles but they only slowed down. The checkpoint signage was then placed in front of them and the army truck was used to block them.

An armed man in civilian clothes then shouted "Fire! Fire!" and the shooting started, lasting for 20 seconds, according to Ocampo.

When a gunshot was fired from one of the SUVs, shooting ensued again.

The second witness, "Tomas Javier," said that one of the men went out of the vehicles with his hands raised but was still shot at. Another man was also shot at even if he was already lying on the ground, Javier told the NBI.

The third witness, "Archie Pelayo Reyes," gave the same statement as that of Parcon, adding their truck was 7-8 meters far from the SUVs.

The corroborating witnesses from a nearby prawn hatchery said they heard gunshots coming from the checkpoint.

There was also one witness - Rolando Boncayo Vico - who said that the men inside the vehicle fired first at the team composed of 23 policemen and 25 members of the military.

The NBI said that Vico's testimony could not be corroborated though.

The findings of Felicisima Francisco, a forensic chemist at the NBI, indicated the men inside the vehicles did not fire at the policemen.

The 196 bullet entrance holes in one Montero and 61 in the other all tested negative for gunpowder residue.

The NBI has recommended the filing of murder charges against Marantan and 20 other PNP personnel as well as against 14 AFP members.

DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima also said they should be charged for obstruction of justice because the firearms they surrendered were not the ones used in the operations.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/23214-atimonan-killings-gambling