29 cops in EDSA encounter defy Commission on Human Rights probe

MANILA, Philippines - Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said yesterday that the 29 policemen involved in an encounter that resulted in the death of three suspected car thieves will not submit themselves to an investigation by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

Acosta earlier called on the CHR to stop its investigation, citing earlier pronouncements by chairwoman Leila de Lima that reportedly indicated her “bias” against the policemen.

“We are submitting only to the jurisdiction of the (National Police Commission). Under civil service rules, Napolcom has the primary jurisdiction,” she said in a press conference at the PAO headquarters. “The CHR is just a recommendatory (office). They can’t prosecute.”

Inspector Angelo Nicolas, in a rare appearance before the media since the controversy broke out, said he and his men in the Quezon City Police District’s anti-carjacking unit “also have human rights,” lamenting the way they have been vilified for performing their duties as policemen.

“It was a legitimate police operation. We just performed our duties as policemen… We didn’t hurt any civilian or anyone innocent… And now we are the ones being portrayed as criminals by those accusing us,” Nicolas said.

“We didn’t do anything wrong, we didn’t violate any law,” he added.

The PAO and private lawyers representing the 29 policemen filed a joint motion for reconsideration before the Napolcom yesterday, asking it to immediately lift the policemen’s preventive suspension and dismiss the case against them.

 “If the accused have human rights, our policemen also have human rights… They (policemen) are just human beings tasked to protect us,” Acosta said. “If a policeman is the one killed (in an operation) maybe no one would say his human rights were violated.”

In the motion, the lawyers said the preventive suspension by the Napolcom was “not validly issued” since “there was no formal charge or charge sheet made prior to the issuance of the preventive suspension.”

The motion stated that policemen did not violate the rules under the police operation procedures and that “the facts surrounding the spot hot pursuit operation from Mandaluyong City up to Edsa-NIA Road demonstrated a legitimate police operation and/or a shootout and not a rubout.”

It also mentioned that there was no use of excessive force in the police operation because suspect Ronald Batapa, who was shown being pulled out of the vehicle by a video taken by an ABS-CBN news crew, did not sustain any head injury.

“The policemen were pulling him (Batapa) out of the car to take him to a hospital but instead Batapa fired a shot. What should the police do, just let himself get killed?” Acosta said, adding there are a number of Supreme Court decisions specifically ruling for the self-defense of policemen during an operation.

The lawyers also attached a forensic report on the wounds of the slain suspects, which stated that “Batapa did not sustain any immediately fatal wound… No execution-style gunshot wounds were appreciated.”

The motion also stated that Batapa was brought to a hospital for treatment by the policemen.

Acosta also defended PAO’s move to represent the policemen, following a statement from Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, who said PAO should only represent indigent clients.

“Even in the early years of the PAO, it has defended a lot of policemen who were charged for performing their duties,” Acosta said.

She cited Republic Act 9406 or the PAO Law, which she said gives PAO the authority to represent policemen “if a case involves national interest.”

Acosta has said the vilification of policemen implicated in the controversy will only endanger the community’s peace and order and embolden criminals.

De Lima won’t stop CHR probe

De Lima rejected yesterday the PAO’s request for the CHR to stop its probe of the Feb. 17 encounter.

In a press conference, De Lima said the CHR is mandated under the law to take jurisdiction over human rights issues or cases. “Like PAO, we in the CHR also have a job to fulfill,” she said.

De Lima also defended her reaction when he saw the video of the incident, which the PAO described as “biased and partial.”

“What is wrong with my reaction? It was an expression of shock, outrage, and frustration. It was a natural reaction,” she said.

De Lima pointed out that “no agency or institution can tell CHR what to do or what not to do, let alone stop the investigation.”

She also clarified that the CHR is not against any government agency or institution but only against individuals who violate the human rights of a person or people.

“We may be guilty of being biased but it is because we are in favor to the protection and promotion of human rights,” De Lima said. “We are not judges… we are investigators, monitors, and watchdog and as such, thus we are pro-vigilance. When you are a watchdog, of course, you speak out.”

De Lima urged involved Quezon City policemen to cooperate with the CHR “if they really have nothing to hide.” She said they should voluntarily issue statements on the incident and “we’ll see if it would be corroborated by other aspects of the investigation.”

Irregular entries

Meanwhile, forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun said there are “irregular entries” in the medico-legal report on the bodies of the slain suspects prepared by the QCPD’s crime laboratory, which she described as “tantamount to fabricating reports.”

Fortun, who conducted a second autopsy on the suspects’ bodies, said the QCPD report indicated specific weights of the suspects’ vital organs, but they found the vital organs still “intact” and inside the bodies.

“The X-rays showed that the vital organs are still in place, they were not removed. But the medico-legal reports have weight entries… This is tantamount to fabricating reports,” Fortun said, noting that the organs have to be removed in order to be weighed.

Fortun called the attention of the CHR on the anomaly, and De Lima said the CHR sent a letter yesterday to the chief of the QCPD crime laboratory.

De Lima expressed dismay over what she described as a “sloppy autopsy,” by police authorities, which seems to be the “norm.”

De Lima said the medico-legal officer who prepared the autopsy reports for the three suspects might be charged criminally and administratively for falsification of public documents. She also said that the medico-legal officers could further be subject to a formal complaint before the Professional Regulations Commission.