Noy vows: There will be justice

MANILA, Philippines - Two days after his deputy spokesperson backed the Philippine National Police (PNP) in its report about a shootout in Quezon, President Aquino said yesterday that he doubted the story and vowed “there will be justice.”

The President issued the statement as relatives of the 13 men killed in the armed encounter faced the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday and insisted that the 13 were summarily executed.

A day after the killings at the boundary of Plaridel and Atimonan towns in Quezon, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigal Valte said Malacañang believed the PNP’s story. “They received a tip and it seemed the tip bore fruit,” she said.

Yesterday, explaining Malacañang’s position, the President told reporters in a chance interview, “There’s a presumption of regularity, initially. Someone was wounded on the side of the people who are manning the checkpoint. On the surface, there appeared to be proof that there was an encounter.”

Aquino said he first learned of the incident through a text message from PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima.

Later, the President said he had doubts on the details and brought these up with Purisima.

He said he also told Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II “to look into what seemingly was not normal behavior.”

“Those who died were supposed to be involved in illegal activities,” the President noted. “On the other side, 13 were killed; use of deadly force is only authorized in self-defense and defense of others.”

He said he wondered why the supposed firefight was confined to the checkpoint and all the 13 died, 11 of them right at the scene.

“Those whom they were supposed to capture were all killed. Subsequently, other information started to come in that appeared inconsistent with the purported story,” he said.

His doubts led him to designate the NBI as the sole agency to investigate the incident, to prevent a cover-up by the PNP.

The President said even Purisima had doubts on the initial report and must be given a chance to prove his worth, given the many problems in the PNP.– Paolo Romero