PNP chief lifts relief order on TMG cops in Pasig slays

Philippine National Police chief Director General Arturo Lomibao lifted yesterday his day-old order suspending 10 operatives of the Traffic Management Group (TMG)-Task Force Limbas involved in the slaying of three suspected carjackers, ruling the incident was a legitimate shootout.

Senior Inspectors Henry Cedron, Hansel Maratan and Samson Belmonte; Police Officers 3 Lloyd Soria and Rizalito Ramos; PO2 Jesus Fermin, Sonny Robrigado, and Dexter Bernadas; and PO1 Fernando Gapuz and Jose Rey Lucena were suspended by Lomibao on Wednesday following the fatal shooting of three suspected carjackers at Garnet Road and Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City late Monday.

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

Lomibao suspended the 10 TMG operatives after he viewed a video of the encounter taken by a cameraman of television station UNTV.

An exclusive four-minute video taken by UNTV showed non-uniformed personnel of 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.

UNTV host lawyer Melanio Mauricio said the video was "very disturbing" because it showed the TMG personnel firing at suspects even though the suspects seemed incapacitated or dead.

Malacañang, Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan and Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. also called on the PNP to conduct a transparent and satisfactory investigation of the shooting incident.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita expressed belief that the PNP will conduct a speedy and satisfactory investigation.

"If I were the PNP chief, I’d see to it that the antecedents to the event should be looked into in order to remove any suspicion of a rubout," Ermita said.

The Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs chaired by Villar may also conduct an investigation into the incident.

Separate investigations are also being undertaken by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Eastern Police District (EPD), which has jurisdiction over Pasig City.

"The TMG personnel will continue to perform (its) duty but will be made available when called for investigation by any probe body," Lomibao said. "The anti-carjacking campaign shall continue without letup."

Reyes said the fact-finding body headed by TMG deputy director Senior Superintendent Luisito Maralit will wrap up its investigation as soon as possible.

"If the result of the probe is favorable to the operatives, all the awards and honors would be given to them; otherwise, we will give them due punishment," Reyes said.

TMG director Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan said the lifting of the suspension order apparently sent the wrong signals to other TMG operatives.

Angcanan also said the reinstatement of the Task Force Limbas operatives does not mean that they have been cleared of any liability in the case.

Crime Lab Findings

Some developments bolstered the legitimacy of the shootout and prompted Lomibao to lift the suspension order, sources said.

The PNP Crime Laboratory’s initial autopsy findings showed that Cu-Unjieng and Dulay had fired guns after paraffin tests confirmed that they had discharged firearms.

PNP crime lab director Chief Superintendent Ernesto Belen said Cu-Unjieng, who had been driving the rented maroon Nissan Exalta in which he and his companions died, tested positive for powder burns on his left arm.

Dulay, who sat in the car’s front passenger seat, tested positive for powder burns on both arms. Manzano, who sat in the back of the car, tested negative for powder burns, indicating that he had not fired a gun.

Belen also told The STAR that the PNP crime lab is "still determining what kind of guns they fired."

Police recovered a 9mm Jericho pistol and an Ingram machine pistol from the suspected carjackers’ vehicle, along with a sachet containing what police believe is shabu.

"We are still evaluating the presence of illegal drugs in the systems of the slain suspects," Belen said.

According to the crime lab, Cu-Unjieng’s body bore three gunshot wounds, Dulay was shot five times and Manzano was shot twice.

The PNP Crime Laboratory’s findings support the testimony of the driver of a stolen white Toyota Prado SUV, who came forward and identified Dulay as the person who manhandled him and a companion in his vehicle last October along Topaz street at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City.

Angcanan said this witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified Dulay as the carjacker who stole his SUV.

Speaking with the press the witness said "I cannot forget his (Dulay’s) face. He flagged me down and pretended to be asking for directions. We talked for about five minutes before he forcibly commandeered the vehicle."

The firearms confiscated from the suspected carjacker’s Exalta sedan were registered to one Rodolfo dela Paz.

"We will summon Dela Paz to shed light as to why his guns ended up in the car of these slain suspects," Angcanan said. "This also means that our operatives did not plant the firearms, as was insinuated by some groups."

Pangilinan said the Senate should not let the major police blunders go unnoticed: "It is frustrating that authorities cannot (bring) closure to cases without inviting controversies. We have the Rules of Engagement for a purpose and this is to ensure that excesses and abuses in the use of force are avoided."

Villar said his committee might initiate an investigation into the incident, saying he wants to hear the explanation of TMG and PNP officials on the matter and determine if the law enforcers involved used unreasonable force.

Pangilinan also said "the burden lies (with) the PNP to establish credibility for its fact-finding body."

"The investigators and the officers in question all belong to the same (unit)," Pangilinan said. "There is only one way to avoid charges of a whitewash and assure the inquiry’s integrity, which is to open the procedures to the public."

Even suspected criminals have rights, he said: "We simply cannot have brutality in our system, especially if this viciousness is perpetrated by our very authorities."

The PNP investigation into the shooting must also answer the question of whether or not the TMG operatives involved committed an act of overkill in the shooting, he said.

Repair Shop Connection?

In a related development, the local government of Mandaluyong City, which shares a border with Pasig City, has issued a closure order for a car repair shop where Cu-Unjieng, Dulay and Manzano allegedly brought the vehicles they supposedly stole.

On the orders of Mandaluyong City Mayor Neptali Gonzales II, city business permit office chief Cathy Arce ordered the closure of a vehicle repair shop located at 49 Kanlaon St. in Barangay Highway Hills after it was found that the shop had not secured the proper documentation to operate its business.

Mandaluyong City police chief Superintendent Ericson Valdez said the car repair shop in question can accommodate up to eight vehicles.

Avelino Portea, who owns the house where the repair shop is located, denied TMG operatives entry to the shop and told them to return with a search warrant.

As of press time Velasquez had the repair shop surrounded and secured by his men so no evidence could be "spirited" out of the area while TMG personnel worked to obtain a search warrant.

TMG intelligence, Velasquez said, indicated that the suspects might have brought stolen vehicles to the Kanlaon St. shop to be repaired.

Portea denied allegations that his shop serviced stolen or "hot" vehicles, saying in a radio interview that three luxury vehicles are currently being repaired in his shop, including a Ford Expedition SUV owned by Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.

However, Portea also admitted that he has been running his repair shop for five years without a business permit. — With reports from Paolo Romero, Non Alquitran and Christina Mendez