DILG Central News

Roxas orders relief of more CALABARZON PNP menJanuary 17, 2013

Manila, Philippines Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas today announced the relief of more officials of the Philippine National Police in the Calabarzon region, including its regional director, Chief Supt. James Melad, to give way to an impartial investigation into the series of killings in the region involving policemen.

The relief order came after the fatal shooting of a suspect, Fernando Morales aka Pandoy, who was gunned down in the early morning hours of Monday while allegedly being served an arrest warrant in his home in San Juan, Batangas. Morales was reportedly a trusted lieutenant of Vic Siman, the alleged jueteng lord who was also killed in a bloody shootout in Atimonan, Quezon last week along with 12 others.

Both Quezon and Batangas fall under the jurisdiction of PNP Region 4-A or Calabarzon.

Those who were relieved, aside from Melad, were Supt. Rosauro Acio, the Batangas provincial police director, Supt. Raul Tacaca, head of the SWAT unit of the Batangas police public safety company, Supt. Elpidio Ramirez, chief of the San Juan municipal police station, and Chief Insp. Rodolfo Ama, also of the San Juan police.

Last week, Roxas also announced the relief of the Quezon police provincial commander, the chief of police of Atimonan town and several others in connection with the bloody shooting incident in Atimonan.

In a press conference in Camp Crame this afternoon, Roxas also turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation an 8-page report of the PNP Fact-Finding Committee that was formed to look into the Atimonan shooting incident. The NBI has been designated by President Aquino as the sole investigating authority in connection with the case.

Also during the press conference, Roxas advised Supt. Hansel Marantan, who led the government ground forces that figured in the Atimonan shooting, to submit himself to the investigation process of the NBI.

“Pinapayuhan ko si Supt. Marantan na sumailalim sa NBI process. Hindi magandang hindi kayo sumailalim sa isang malinaw at transparent na proseso,” Roxas said.

The DILG secretary earlier said Marantan, who is confined in a private hospital due to bullet wounds he allegedly sustained during the Atimonan shooting, refused to cooperate with the PNP Fact-Finding Committee. Marantan reportedly declined to give a statement or show his wounds as well as the slugs recovered from his body.

Roxas has vowed that there would be no whitewash in the investigation of both the Atimonan shooting and the subsequent killing of Morales in Batangas, which are believed to be related.
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DILG Central News

Roxas announces relief of PNP men in Atimonan shootingJanuary 10, 2013

Manila, Philippines Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas today announced the relief of all members of the Philippine National Police who were involved in the deadly shooting incident in Atimonan, Quezon last Sunday that led to the death of 13 men, including three PNP men and two Air Force soldiers.

The relief order came after the initial results of a PNP fact-finding mission showed that the policemen who were involved in the setting up of a checkpoint where the alleged encounter took place violated operational procedures.

“The role of the PNP in this matter is purely as a fact-finding body and to determine the administrative liabilities of those who were involved,” Roxas said. “The criminal investigation will be handled by the National Bureau of Investigation, and we will give them our full support.”

Among those ordered relieved were Senior Supt. Valeriano de Leon, the Quezon provincial police director, the chief of police of Atimonan town, and an intelligence unit of about 15 men under Supt. Hansel Marantan, who was wounded in the incident.

The fact-finding investigation is led by Chief Supt. Federico Castro, deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The relieved officers have been recalled to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame where they will be held in restricted custody, while the non-commissioned officers will be restricted within Camp Vicente Lim in Canlubang, Laguna.

During a press conference in Camp Crame this afternoon, Roxas said the fact-finding group established that out of the 13 men who were killed in the incident, eight were positive for gunpowder burns but said these are not conclusive that they indeed fired guns during the Sunday incident.

The DILG secretary also said that of the 14 guns recovered from the cars of the slain men, 13 were licensed, but only seven are covered by permits to carry.

“Hindi biro ang insidenteng ito. Mayroon kang 13 kalalakihan na puro armado. Hindi naman siguro sila manonood lang ng sine,” Roxas said. “Aalamin natin ang buong katotohanan dito at tinitiyak kong hindi magkakaroon ng whitewash at takipan.”

For his part, PNP Director General Alan Purisima said the policemen involved in the incident, particularly those who set up the checkpoint, violated basic procedures such as the failure to put distinct signs in the main checkpoint and the lack of a marked police vehicle in the vicinity.

He added that only one uniformed policeman, the chief of police of Atimonan, was manning the checkpoint, while the rest, including the intelligence team under Marantan, were all in civilian clothes in violation of checkpoint guidelines.

Roxas also disclosed that the first SUV where five of the slain men were riding sustained no less than 186 bullet holes, while the second SUV had around 50 bullet holes.
However, Roxas declined to speculate on the motives or the cause of the alleged firefight, saying that it will be up to the NBI to decide who were at fault and who would be criminally charged, if warranted.

The Commission on Human Rights is also conducting a separate investigation amid claims that the encounter was a rubout.

“The DILG and the PNP role is simply as a fact-finding body. We are wholeheartedly supporting the Department of Justice, the NBI and the CHR in their investigations and we will provide them with all our findings,” Roxas said. “I assure everyone of our full cooperation to find out the truth, as what I told President Aquino during our meeting.”###

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