Murder raps vs 2 Manila cops upheld

A police fact-finding panel has upheld the murder charges against two Manila policemen who allegedly only stood by when a barangay chairman was gunned down in January.

Police Officers 2 Marvin Velasquez and Ken Mamerto allegedly accompanied the gunman, who shot barangay chairman Lamberto Asayo on Jan. 30 along Recto Avenue.

Asayo was involved in a dispute for control of sidewalk vendors in Divisoria.

Velasquez and Mamerto were assigned to a police station in Binondo.

In his report to Manila Police District director Senior Superintendent Danilo Abarzosa, General Assignment Section chief Superintendent Hospicio Guevarra has cleared Binondo police station chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz of any responsibility in the murder.

Earlier, a police panel was formed to investigate why two of the station’s police officers were involved.

Aside from the murder charges filed by the MPD’s homicide section, the panel has also recommended administrative proceedings against Velasquez and Mamerto.

Senior Inspector Edgar Reyes, the panel’s chief investigator, said witnesses have identified Velasquez and Mamerto as Soriano’s companions during the killing. Soriano remains at large.

Velasquez and Mamerto have been disarmed and transferred to the holding unit of the MPD, the District Headquarters Support Unit, while they await an investigation for their administrative liability, according to Reyes.

The panel noted that Diaz cannot be held accountable for the murder since there was no evidence to show that a request for police assistance was made during the shooting.

"As it is, Diaz could not be faulted, even if his two policemen have already been indicted as co-principals in the murder of Asayo. Normal deployment of personnel is in place and the immediate response and investigation of his personnel were done accordingly," the report stated.

Witnesses have told the police that the gunman, whose name has been withheld, is a known henchman of alleged mastermind Diosdado Soriano.

Soriano is a former civilian agent of the National Bureau of Investigation, according to the police, and a leader of a large vendors’ association in Divisoria.

He is allegedly being coddled by a religious organization and receiving protection from unidentified NBI officials.