ON TARGET
People find PNP official’s tales hard to believe
By Ramon TulfoPhilippine Daily Inquirer
The more Supt. Hansel Marantan opens his mouth, the more he gets buried deeper in a quicksand of public opinion.
Marantan was the ground commander of the police operation in Atimonan, Quezon province, that led to the killing of 13 persons he and his men claimed were criminals.
He keeps on insisting on hisinnocence, even saying that his big boss, Director General Alan Purisima, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, had prejudged him and his men.
Purisima agrees with the findings of police investigators that the 13 people who were killed in Atimonan were murdered.
Even Justice Secretary Leila de Lima says there was no shootout between the 13 victims and Marantan’s men, indicating that the victims were murdered.
No matter how strong Marantan’s protestation of innocence, the public doesn’t believe him.
From reports about the incident, even a moron would conclude there was no shootout.
Marantan needs a top-caliber lawyer to convince the court that there was a firefight between him and his men, on the one hand, and the victims on the other.
* * *
Marantan has figured in the killing of scions of prominent families in Ortigas some years back.
He made it appear the victims were car thieves.
The public believed Marantan in his claim that the victims fought back despite a video footage of the incident showing that the victims were gunned down.
In Parañaque several years ago, a father and his 7-year-old daughter were killed by Marantan and his men who were going after robbers.
Marantan was able to convince the courts that the killing was accidental.
This, despite testimony of witnesses that the father, who was a Filipino contract worker on vacation, raised his hands in surrender but he was still gunned down with his daughter.
The saying that one can fool some people some of the time but he cannot fool all people all of the time applies to Marantan in the Atimonan shootout.
The universal law of karma has caught up with Marantan.
* * *
When President Noy made a campaign pitch for Liberal Party (LP) candidates running for local posts in Cavite province, he thought he was being funny or cute when he made reference to “anting-anting” or amulets.
Amulets are identified with former Sen. Ramon Revilla and his son, Sen. Bong Revilla, whose own son himself is running for vice governor against the LP bet.
What the President didn’t know was that he hurt the sensibilities of many Cavite folk who believe in amulets.
Most Filipino simple folk believe in the supposed powers of amulets.
They think the President was making fun of them.
The President’s faux pas may result in the loss of LP bets, both local and national, in Cavite and other places in the country.
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Tags: Atimonan 13 , Hansel Marantan , PNP , Police , Quezon shootout
