CHR to probe Ortigas slays

Was this shooting a case of overkill?

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will investigate the killing of suspected car thieves in Pasig City late Monday night after it received a copy of video footage showing policemen firing on the seemingly helpless suspects.

Lawyer Melanio Mauricio, UNDP television host, said CHR Chairman Purificacion Quisumbing made the assurance after she received a copy of the exclusive four-minute video shot by a UNDP cameraman showing non-uniformed personnel of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) Task Force Limbas shooting carjacking suspects Brian Anthony Dulay, Francis Xavier Manzano and Antonio Cu-Unjieng, all of whom appeared to be mortally wounded. The three slain suspects sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

"The CHR will conduct a moto propio (requested) investigation," Mauricio told The STAR.

Quisumbing could not be reached for comment as of press time, but a member of the CHR public information office said the issue is now being tackled by the commission en banc in a closed-door meeting.

"The CHR will issue an official statement after the commissioners decide on the issue" a CHR information office staffer said.

Other television stations aired the UNDP video in their early evening newscasts last night.

Meanwhile, 10 TMG operatives involved in the incident were relieved of their duties by an irate Philippine National Police chief Director General Arturo Lomibao after he viewed the UNDP footage of the alleged encounter.

Relieved were Senior Inspectors Henry Cedron, Hansel Maratan, and Samson Belmonte; PO2 Jesus Fermin, PO2 Sonny Robrigado, PO1 Fernando Gapuz, PO1 Jose Rey Lucena and PO3 Lloyd Soria.

Belmonte was wounded in the foot and was conferred the "Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting" while in the hospital by Lomibao and Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes.

TMG director Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan said the relief of the TMG officers will pave the way for a "fair and impartial" investigation into the encounter.

Mauricio said the UNDP video was "very disturbing" because it showed members of the TMG firing at the suspects even if they were already down and possibly dead.

He said the UNDP news team took the exclusive video because the shooting happened right in front of their office on the corner of Garnet Road and Ortigas Avenue.

"The issue here is not (car theft)," Mauricio said. "It is about the rules of engagement of the police in arresting suspected criminals."

The PNP investigation will focus on whether the relieved TMG personnel violated the PNP rules of engagement, which govern the actions of police officers in conflict situations, Angcanan said.

"The investigation will determine if the actions of the operating team during the encounter were consistent with police standard operation procedures," he added.

Lomibao has ordered a thorough investigation into the encounter after reporters were shown the UNDP video footage of the encounter at Camp Crame yesterday.

A segment of the footage showed at least four armed plainclothes police officers approaching the suspects’ vehicle, a maroon Nissan Exalta with license plates XDD-828, its windshield already shattered by earlier gunshots, to check on the occupants.

The succeeding segments of the footage showed one of the police operatives firing on the suspect in the driver’s seat of the car. The video also showed that the suspect was already wounded when he was shot by the TMG officer.

Angcanan refused to identify the TMG officer who was caught on video firing what seemed to be the fatal shot.

Police procedure dictates that police officers must identify themselves when attempting to arrest or interdict suspects. The same procedure also states that, after securing the scene of a crime or conflict, responding police officers must ensure that wounded parties get immediate medical treatment.

Dulay’s family was interviewed by television reporters last night and they expressed shock and outrage over Brian’s death after watching the UNDP footage of the shooting, saying the police actions were "very bad." They also said Brian was not a carjacker.

Angcanan said the identity of the policeman caught firing at Cu-Unjieng will be "the subject of the investigation of the fact-finding board, which will be headed by TMG deputy director Senior Superintendent Luisito Maralit.

"There is no timetable. If they finish the investigation in two to three days, so much the better," Angcanan said. "There will be no whitewash in the investigation, which could focus on the allegation if there was excessive use of force during the encounter with the armed carjackers."

He also clarified that there was no "rubout," adding that the 10 relieved TMG officers were on legitimate police operations when they chanced upon the suspects, whom they claimed were about to steal a vehicle.

Angcanan also defined a rubout as an extra-judicial killing that takes place after "the police capture suspected criminals and kill them while they are helpless."

"That was not the case with the shootout" in Ortigas, he said.

The police said Cu-Unjieng, Manzano and Dulay had been under close police surveillance because they were linked to car theft activities. The TMG operatives recovered a 9-mm. automatic pistol, an Ingram machine gun, a set of car license plates and some shabu crystals from the vehicle the suspects were riding.

While Angcanan backed the presumption the relieved TMG personnel were doing their jobs, he added that "if we find that there was really a violation of the rules of engagement, the PNP and TMG leadership will not tolerate such a violation."

At Camp Crame, a police operative who saw the video commented on condition of anonymity that "there’s no doubt that there was an encounter. But the TV footage showed that there was overkill on the part of the TMG operatives in the killing of the suspects."

The PNP was given a copy of UNDP video by Mauricio, who handed the videotape to Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Oscar Valenzuela yesterday morning.

Valenzuela and Metro Manila police chief Director Vidal Querol viewed the footage before lunch, but both refused to comment on whether or not the TMG operatives used excessive force.

"What we saw was that there was a legitimate encounter because one of our policemen was seen limping on the street," Querol said, referring to Belmonte.

Querol also said they are awaiting Lomibao’s orders regarding who would take the lead in investigating the incident.

Valenzuela said the Pasig City police department has jurisdiction over the case because the shootout happened within Pasig, adding that his department would continue its investigation.

"We are now waiting for the relatives of the suspects to show up and have their statements taken by investigators," Valenzuela said.

Cu-Unjieng, Dulay and Manzano were all from good families.

Prior to the incident, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said it was hot on the trail of a car-theft gang reportedly made up of the scions of prominent families known as the "Balikbayan Juvenile Gang" who steal cars for the thrill if it.

This car theft gang was also reportedly involved in illegal drag racing and sold the stolen cars for P25,000 to P50,000. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Non Alquitran