Human rights raps filed against 24 cops
CHR: Policemen turned Parañaque into war zone
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer – www.inquirer.net
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
MANILA, Philippines – Lilian De Vera, widow of one of the victims, left home in Pangasinan at 4 a.m. Monday for the three-hour trip to Manila to listen to the announcement by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of its findings at a press conference.
The trip was worth it, De Vera said, because she was able to find help from the CHR in pursuing the multiple-murder case she had filed against more than 50 police personnel, including ranking officers, in the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The CHR has found that police operatives committed multiple human rights violations in a shoot-out with alleged robbers in Parañaque more than a year ago that left six civilians, including Lilian’s husband, a returning overseas Filipino worker, and their 7-year-old daughter dead.
The CHR recommended the filing of charges against 24 officers of the Philippine National Police for the carnage.
In a resolution dated Jan. 5, which CHR Chair Leila de Lima released at the press conference, the commission also recommended policy reforms in the PNP to prevent a repeat of the incident.
“These [basic] rights were ignored and deemed nonexistent on the night of Dec. 5, 2008, in United Parañaque Subdivision 4, Parañaque, not because the civilians in the area were mistaken for criminals by the police. It was because they were presumed to be criminals and this seems to have been taken by the police operatives as justification for the use of force of such magnitude,” the CHR said.
The commission said the PNP turned the subdivision’s main avenue into a war zone and treated everyone on it as an enemy combatant.
“This explains the complete breakdown in the protection of the human rights of the civilian residents,” it added.
Incompetence, brutality
After an investigation and several public inquiries into the shoot-out, the CHR concluded that the police operation against the suspected robbers “was not only a blatant display of police incompetence … but also a show of blatant disregard for standard operating procedures, brazen police brutality and reckless disregard for human life,” the CHR said in a statement.
The encounter claimed the lives of Alfonso de Vera, his daughter Lea Alyanna, Skyway employee Ronaldo Eusebio, Jessiery Basmayor, Arnel Macalawan and Bernard Tungcab.
Also killed were PO1 Nixon Vinasoy of the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) and nine suspected members of the Waray Waray and Ozamiz gangs.
Supt. Eleuterio Gutierrez of the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) was seriously wounded.
On the night of Dec. 5 two years ago, members of the SAF and HPG were on a stakeout at the United Parañaque Subdivision 4 in Barangay Marcelo Green, following a tip that members of the Waray Waray and Ozamiz gangs were about to rob a warehouse in the area.
Riddled with bullets
Alfonso and Lea Alyanna were on their way to pick up Lilian when their vehicle was riddled with bullets allegedly by policemen who thought that their Isuzu Crosswind was one of the robbers’ vehicles.
Eusebio’s motorcycle was commandeered by an escaping gang member on South Luzon Expressway when the police shot at both of them.
The bodies of Tungcab, Macalawan and Basmayor were discovered in different areas of the subdivision that the CHR said should have been cordoned off for the police operation.
Criminal charges
For the deaths of the De Veras and Eusebio, the CHR recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against the following HPG members: Chief Inspectors Joel Mendoza and Lawrence Cajipe, Inspectors Gerardo Balacutan and Doroteo Tolentino, PO3s Jolito Mamanao Jr., Fernando Rey Gapuz, Arvin Ramos, Edwin Cuadra and Jesus Pascual, PO2s Eduardo Blanco, Edwin Santos, Fidel Quirejero and John Idio, and PO1s Josil Rey Lucena, Elybeer Cayaban, Jayson Galimba and Wilfredo Reyes.
The CHR recommended the filing of criminal charges against Director Perfecto Palad (regional director of PNP Calabarzon), Director Orlando Mabutas (HPG chief) and Supt. James Cristobal for obstruction of justice, dereliction of duty and for failing to produce, if not concealing, the firearms of the HPG team used in the killing of the De Veras.
For gross negligence resulting in the killing of the six civilians, the CHR recommended the filing of administrative charges against Cristobal, Chief Inspectors Michael Saturnino and Francisco Lucena III, Insp. Lito Israel and SPO4 Dante Borja.
The CHR said it would continue to gather more evidence to determine who was culpable for the deaths of Tungcab, Macalawan and Basmayor.
Unbelievable narration
The CHR castigated the members of the police operation and their superiors “for concocting incredible and unbelievable narration of the events surrounding the deaths of the De Veras” in which the police claimed that it was the suspected gang members who peppered the family’s vehicle with bullets.
De Lima described the CHR resolution as “exhaustive and fact-intensive” to allow the prosecutorial arms of the government such as the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman to “fully appreciate the import of our findings.”
Lacking prosecutorial powers, the CHR can only recommend the filing of charges against those who have committed human rights violations.
“Theoretically, the agencies with prosecutorial powers can adopt or reject, or adopt with modifications, our recommendations. But we feel that in cases like this, we had an expansive treatment of the case. We have high hopes they will adopt our recommendation,” De Lima told the Inquirer.
Review procedures
The CHR urged the PNP to undertake a comprehensive review of its operational procedures to make them more responsive to and compliant with human rights requirements specifically on the protection of civilians.
It also asked the PNP to come out with clear regulations on firearms accountability of its officers.
A teary-eyed Lilian, 43, said she had been waiting for the DOJ resolution since November last year.
“We hope Mrs. De Vera would somehow feel some relief. We know how painful it is to lose your loved ones in that manner,” De Lima said at the press conference while she asked a staff member to hand the widow a copy of the CHR resolution.
Going to church daily
Lilian has been staying with an elder sister in Pangasinan since she lost her husband and daughter. She goes to church daily and does cross-stitching to keep herself busy.
The CHR recommendation may be used in the PNP probe of the shoot-out, according to a police spokesperson.
“We have yet to receive a copy of the CHR report, but it would be considered in the the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS) investigation,” Senior Insp. Kimberly Gonzales, PNP deputy spokesperson, said at a briefing in Camp Crame.
The IAS investigation, Gonzales said, was about the possible administrative liabilities of the policemen who participated in the shoot-out.
All the PNP personnel, who were relieved after the controversial gunfight, are still assigned to their respective units, Gonzales said.
Pols urged not to pay NPA permit to campaign
Delfin T. Mallari Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer – www.inquirer.net
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
LUCENA CITY—WITH THE election season, a military official in Quezon province has advised candidates not to fall into the extortion schemes of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
Lt. Col. Cornelio Valencia Jr., head of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion operating in some parts of the province’s Lamon Bay and Bondoc Peninsula areas, told the Inquirer over the phone that he had been making the rounds of local government units in his jurisdiction to appeal to election candidates not to give in to the money-making schemes of the communist rebels.
“The money that they (candidates) will give to the NPA will eventually be used against the people that they will be sworn to serve and protect,” Valencia said.
During elections, the NPA demands that politicians campaigning in areas it controls pay the permit-to-campaign (PTC) or permit-to-win (PTW) fees.
Negotiations and mode of payment vary in different areas across the country.
Other NPA units prefer personal negotiations while some use couriers in sending demand letters.
The payment could be coursed through an ATM bank account or intermediaries.
Valencia said the PTC and PTW are the same extortion schemes by the NPA.
“They are both plain and simple blackmail in exchange for an empty promise of winning the election. But how can that happen when these terrorists no longer enjoy the support of their traditional mass base? The farmers are now turning their back on the NPA because of their long years of exacting forced material and physical support,” said the Army official.
Valencia said the military has yet to see a copy of the supposed PTW contract between the NPA and candidate.
He said the election fund-raising activities by the NPA could boost the receding communist influence in Quezon.
Quezon officials said they had yet to encounter NPA rebels offering PTW.
“But if the NPA will sweet talk me about PTW, I would just turn it down. I’m only good for the PTC. How can they (NPA) ensure the victory of a candidate especially in an automated election? Maybe, they can deliver votes in some remote areas. But for the entire locality? That’s impossible,” said an official who requested anonymity for security reasons.
He said paying PTC to the NPA is part of every election.
“We have a budget for that to avoid trouble. Besides, how can the police and the military protect us from NPA harassment when we now only have very limited security backup due to the gun ban? For any candidate, paying the NPA is a much better option,” said another local official.
2 NPAs slain in Quezon clash
By Non Alquitran, Michelle Zoleta and Celso Amo
The Philippine Star – www.philstar.com
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
MANILA, Philippines - Government forces killed in an encounter two suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who were allegedly collecting “permit to win” fees from local candidates in Macalelon town in Quezon last Saturday morning.
Calabarzon police chief Director Rolando Anonuevo said the slain rebels, which have yet to be identified, yielded three M-16 Armalite rifles and subversive documents.
In Magallanes, Sorsogon, meanwhile, two guerrillas were killed and two Army men were wounded in a clash early Monday.
2 rebels slain in clash
Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsbriefs
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
TWO COMMUNIST rebels were killed and two soldiers were wounded in an encounter between government troops and New People’s Army members on Monday in Barangay Ginangra, Magallanes town, Sorsogon, the military said.
The soldiers recovered five M-16 rifles, two Carbine rifles and five improvised land mines from the scene.
The wounded soldiers, identified as Pfc Christopher M. Madara and Pfc Arce D. Formanes, were brought to the Bulan District Hospital, while the two rebels were brought to the town hall of Magallanes for identification.
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