Palace: Melad OK’d Quezon operation

MANILA, Philippines - It was sacked Calabarzon police director Chief Superintendent James Melad who approved the operation in Atimonan, Quezon early this month, contrary to his statements that it was the Palace that gave the go-signal, Malacañang said yesterday. 

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had not yet submitted its report on the incident to President Aquino, but that was one of the preliminary findings.

Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima said Army soldiers involved in the controversial incident that left a suspected jueteng lord and 12 others dead are likely to face multiple murder charges just like their counterparts in the PNP.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the delay in the results of ballistic tests and a few “new developments” have hampered the NBI from meeting its self-imposed deadline for submitting investigation report.     

“They are still finishing (the report). They are collating all the reports. In fact, they are working overtime to finalize the report. That’s what Secretary Leila de Lima told me,” Lacierda said.    

Earlier, Melad said Superintendent Hansel Marantan, deputy chief of the regional intelligence division of Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) police, presented to him the case operation plan of “Coplan Armado.” 

Melad claimed he was informed by Marantan that he asked for funding from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. for Coplan Armado and that the latter released the amount of P100,000 as initial funding. “What we have right now is that, based on testimonies that are already out in the public, that particular operation in Atimonan was approved by General Melad. It was approved on that level. So we cannot comment. The issue whether intelligence should be involved in operations is something that is an operational detail, which I am not privy to. It’s purely an operational matter,” Lacierda said.          

Waiting

Meanwhile, Purisima said the filing of multiple murder charges against the soldiers depends on the recommendation of the NBI. 

“We can say that’s heading that way but we should wait for the result of the NBI probe first,” he said during a visit to The STAR office Tuesday evening.

He admitted they were elated upon receiving the initial police report of the “encounter,” only to become suspicious later due to the huge number of fatalities.

The PNP has grounded and filed administrative cases against the 22 police officers led by Marantan for committing serious violations of the rules on the conduct of checkpoints.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has also restricted to headquarters the 25 soldiers, all members of the 1st Special Forces Battalion based in Candelaria town, who served as backup to Marantan’s group. 

Lacierda said the operation was being looked into as well as past incidents involving Marantan.  “Secretary De Lima already mentioned that they’re also looking into the past checkpoint incidents of Colonel Marantan,” he said.  The Palace official said he was not exactly aware of the covert operations being done by the PNP.     

He said the PAOCC would continue its mandate based on Executive Order 46.  “The PAOCC still exists... The mandate of the PAOCC is listed in the Executive Order No. 46 so that should provide you a basis to see what the role of the PAOCC is and, remember, PAOCC is not involved in operations,” he said.      

“I don’t have EO 46 but insofar, for instance, as the Atimonan incident is concerned, remember there was a request for funding the entire operations (but) it was not approved,” he added.

De Lima said she would not want to pressure investigators so she gave them more time to complete the report.

She said NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas had asked for a few days more “to allow them to concentrate on the completion of the report that has already reached over 300 pages as of now.”                    

“I don’t want to give a deadline anymore. They probably can submit tomorrow (Thursday) or a few days from now. Director Nonni (Rojas) said he would just surprise me,” she told reporters.             

She described the evaluation of ballistic test results as the “most tedious process.”

She also cited “new developments in the course of the investigation” which would be contained in the NBI report.                        

She hinted the NBI would recommend charges against some of those involved in the incident, but refused to give details.

The NBI is still waiting for another affidavit from Marantan, because his earlier affidavit was not clear, particularly on the positions of the policemen, the Army soldiers and victims.

An NBI insider told The STAR that they are also waiting for the medico-legal report to determine how Marantan was shot. 

Due diligence

Meanwhile, the military is currently reviewing its coordination policies with the police to avoid a repeat of the Atimonan incident.

AFP chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said it is important to conduct due diligence before proceeding with any operation.       

Bautista maintained the soldiers who joined the checkpoint operation responded in good faith.

Of the 25 soldiers involved, 15 joined the police in the checkpoint, while the 10 others served as reserve force deployed at the Atimonan police.

Purisima admitted that many erring police officers managed to stay with the organization because of the weak disciplinary system.  He said he hopes to improve the PNP’s disciplinary system by making sure that administrative cases filed against police personnel are resolved within three months as prescribed by the law. 

He raised the issue when asked about the case of Marantan, who despite having been involved in several controversial police operations, managed to get promoted.  

The PNP chief also admitted he had chosen the wrong words when he mentioned that the Quezon shooting incident was “more of a blessing.” 

He said although unfortunate, the incident would be used to address the dysfunctions in the police force. – Edu Punay, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Alexis Romero, Sandy Araneta