There should be no repeat of the bloody Atimonan, Quezon, incident. President Aquino on Friday gave this marching order to the new graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) as he called on them to tread his policy of “tuwid na daan (straight path).”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has set for April 8 the start of the preliminary investigation of 25 policemen and soldiers led by P/Supt. Hansel Marantan who are charged in the murder of 13 men in Atimonan, Quezon, on Jan. 6.
The National Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed multiple murder charges in the Department of Justice against 14 policemen and 11 soldiers in the killings of suspected gambling lord Vic Siman and 12 others in Atimonan, Quezon province, on Jan. 6.
The police operation plan carried out by Supt. Hansel Marantan purportedly to neutralize a crime ring was a “mere subterfuge” to kill a competitor in “jueteng” that has continued to flourish despite well-publicized government pledges to eliminate the illegal numbers racket, investigators said.
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson isn’t buying the National Bureau of Investigation’s findings indicating a police rubout in the Atimonan incident that left 13 persons dead in early January.
“All indications point to a rubout.” Agreeing with investigators’ findings of a summary execution, President Aquino on Wednesday ordered the filing of multiple murder charges against 35 police officers and Army soldiers over a Jan. 6 incident that left 13 people dead.
Soldiers involved in the alleged rubout in Atimonan, Quezon which left 13 people dead will also face the military court following the recommendation of the Department of Justice to file multiple charges against them and other 21 members of the Philippine National Police.
The families of at least two of the victims in the Atimonan, Quezon shooting are getting impatient with Malacañang’s decision to go slow in reviewing the recommendations that the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation submitted to the Palace over a week ago.
Malacañang should be given more time to review a five-inch thick investigation report on the police killing of 13 alleged criminals in Atimonan, Quezon, on Jan. 6, officials said on Sunday.
The national police commander immediately knew what he had in his hands when he saw the Calabarzon police report on the killing of 13 alleged criminals at a police checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon province, on Jan. 6: A cover-up.
The National Bureau of Investigation has found that the killing of 13 people at a joint police-military checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon province, on Jan. 6 was a “conspiracy,” and decided to bring criminal charges against the policemen and soldiers involved.
President Aquino sees no reason to doubt Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, the administration’s anticrime czar whose name has been dragged into the police killing of 13 alleged criminals in Atimonan, Quezon, on Jan. 6.
PNP Director General Alan Purisima reminded policemen of these basic tenets as the 148,000-strong force prepared to mark its 22nd anniversary on Sunday, under a new brand: “Serbisyong Makatotohanan (Genuine Service).”
