MANILA, Philippines ? The National Police Commission (Napolcom) Monday ordered the preventive suspension for 90 days of 29 policemen who were involved in the Feb. 17 shooting incident on Edsa which left three suspected car thieves dead.
In a press conference, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who also chairs the Napolcom, said the decision was based on their initial findings that the policemen violated police operational procedures as shown by the footage taken by an ABS-CBN crew.
?This is a unanimous resolution of the Napolcom en banc. The police operational procedures are very clear; if they had followed these, this would not have happened,? he told reporters.
Suspended effective Monday were eight members of the Quezon City Police District?s anticar theft unit identified as Insp. Angelo Nicolas, the chief of the unit; SPO1 Frederick Torres; Police Officers 3 Honey Besas and Glicerio Manacpo; Police Officers 2 Eugene Martines and PO2 Randy Barrameda; and Police Officers 1 Ranmond Escober and Freddy Suliva.
Also suspended were 21 members of the National Capital Region-Highway Patrol Group led by Senior Supt. Fortunato Guerrero, the team leader; Chief Inspectors Allan Rubi Macapagal, James Ramos, Henry Cerdon and Francis Bunag; Insp. Rogelio Acosta, SPO4 Gregorio Aquino, SPO2 Wilson Prion, SPO1 Eliseo Dannug, Police Officers 3 Ireneo Reyes, Allan Bonggat, Joel Sabalvaro, Julius Arcalas, Eduardo Medenilla and Erwin Rubrico; Police Officers 2 Catherine Guerrero and Arlene Driz; and Police Officers 1 Eugene Morales, Jessie Olpindo, Virgilio Sunga and Avelino Nunez.
The six-page Napolcom resolution said the ABS-CBN footage became the ?major basis? in assessing the involvement of the teams in the Feb. 17 incident.
The footage showed two policemen ? one in uniform and the other in civilian attire ? approaching the suspects? car, opening the doors on the left side, pulling a man out of the vehicle and shooting him at close range.
?Immediately thereafter, shots were fired inside the vehicle for the apparent purpose of immobilizing or killing the passengers therein. It was not clear from the video whether the passengers fired upon were dead or alive,? the resolution read.
The Napolcom noted that there was nothing which showed ?that sufficient warnings and efforts were exerted to persuade the suspects to come out of the car and surrender? ? a violation of Rule 4 which states that the ?team leader shall use all peaceful means, including the use of a megaphone or any other similar means, to influence/warn the offenders/suspects to stop and/or peacefully give up.?
It added that firing into the suspects? car and pulling one of them out of the vehicle were ?violative? of Rules 6 and 7, considering that the suspects ?did not pose an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the police or other persons.?
Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights, which is conducting a probe of the incident, said the bodies of two of the three suspects were being reautopsied by forensic expert Raquel Fortun of the University of the Philippines.
?The result of the reautopsy will be the basis of our decision whether or not to hold public hearings on the incident,? lawyer Carmen Rosete, CHR National Capital Region chief, said.
She identified the two men as Roland Batapa and Romeo de Guzman. The two, together with Alfredo Pimentel, were onboard an alleged stolen vehicle which was pursued by policemen on Feb. 17 near the corner of NIA Road and Edsa.
Officials of the QCPD, however, denied accusations of a rubout, saying they were only performing their duties.
