Probe into dumping of bodies in Payatas sought

The families of the victims of President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs sought on Monday the Court of Appeals (CA) to order the Philippine National Police and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) to conduct an investigation into the dumping of corpses near their homes earlier this month to determine that this was not carried out by the same policemen they had hailed to court.

In their five-page manifestation, complainants Efren Morillo and his parents Martino and Victoria, Ma. Belen Daa, Marla Daa, Maribeth Bartolay, Lydia Gavo, Jennifer Nicolas and Marilyn Malimban said that the dumping of two bodies along Payatas Road last March 12 had caused “immense fear and worry” to them.

“Petitioners initially felt a certain measure of security from the grant of a permanent protection order of this honorable court, and thus decided to proceed with the filing of their cases. However, the described incident has caused them to feel a renewed sense of fear for their lives and security. To them, the dumping of the dead bodies seemed like a message sent to them to stop them from pursuing their charges,” the petition read.

Morillo earlier filed in the Office of the Ombudsman charges of multiple murder, frustrated murder, robbery, planting of drugs and planting of evidence and administrative charges of grave misconduct against Senior Insp. Emil Garcia, PO3 Allan Formilleza, PO1 James Aggarao and PO1 Melchor Navisaga and their civilian informants.

The other complainants had also filed administrative charges against the policemen who conducted a drug raid in Barangay Payatas on Aug. 21 last year. Based on their affidavits, their kin were killed “execution style” by lawmen from the QCPD’s Batasan station.

Apart from determining whether the policemen were involved in the dumping of the bodies, lawyer Joel Butuyan, one of the counsels from the Center for International Law, said that they would also want the QCPD to send to them a copy of its investigation on the policemen and where they have been reassigned.

He noted that the police’s noncompliance may be considered a violation of the protection order granted by the CA last month.