EDITORIAL - Remember the Atimonan killings?

There are other pressing matters at hand, from the crisis in Sabah to the election campaign. President Aquino, however, will have to turn his attention soon to the report submitted to him by the National Bureau of Investigation and its mother agency, the Department of Justice, on the killing of 13 men in Atimonan, Quezon.

It’s been over two months since the mass killing, which both police and NBI probers believe was a rubout. Even Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said as much, based on what eyewitnesses whom she described as credible told her.

The President has pleaded for time to thoroughly study the report, said to be five to six inches thick. His action on the recommendations of the NBI is awaited not just by the relatives of the 13 men, but also by those convinced that the incident was a case of summary execution and who worry that if those responsible go unpunished, it would ensure a repeat of the incident. There is also concern that with several officials already concluding in public that the incident was a rubout rather than a shootout, some of the police and military personnel involved may disappear before they can face criminal indictment.

As narrated by police investigators, the operation targeted Vic Siman, an alleged jueteng lord, whose rival in the gambling business was said to be close to a key officer involved in the shooting in Atimonan on Jan. 6. This could indicate premeditation. The joint police-military team claimed it was a chance encounter, with Siman’s group opening fire first and the security forces returning fire in self-defense.

Peppering two vehicles with hundreds of bullets, ensuring that none of the passengers would survive, smacks more of murder and overkill rather than self-defense. But the public will have to wait for an official ruling on this. And the process of determining the truth waits for the President’s action on the NBI report.