Kin of 3 men slain in Ortigas ‘shootout’ seek justice from Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines—The families of three men slain in Pasig City six years ago in what police said was a shootout with car thieves are hoping that the video footage taken by a TV crew would pin down the law enforcers involved in the incident for murder.

Relatives of the three—Anton Cu-Unjieng, Francis Xavier Manzano and Brian Anthony Dulay—believe the young men were victims of a rubout and pointed to the UNTV video showing the policemen shooting the three as they lay motionless in a car along Ortigas Ave. on November 7, 2005.

Through their lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, the relatives of Manzano and Cu-Unjieng have asked Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales to withdraw the homicide charges recently filed in court against five policemen, and to upgrade the charges to murder.

They want six other policemen initially implicated in the case to be charged with murder, as well.

Diokno, in a letter to Morales dated November 29, raised questions about the integrity of the Office of the Ombudsman’s preliminary investigation of the case against the police. He asked for an investigation on whether rulings issued in the matter were tampered with.

The Office of the Ombudsman in 2009 ordered the filing of homicide charges against the police officers which the victims’ families contested since they wanted murder charges filed.

In an order approved on July 11, 2011, the Ombudsman denied the families’ partial motion for reconsideration and ordered the filing of homicide charges against the police officers. The charges, dated January 6, 2009, were filed on October 10, 2011 in the Pasig regional trial court.

But Diokno said several developments “raise serious questions about the integrity of the preliminary investigation in this case.”

He noted that Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro earlier accused former Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Mark Jalandoni of tampering with official document.

Casimiro had alleged that Jalandoni superimposed his signatures on resolutions acted upon by Casimiro to make it appear that he is the final approving authority. Doubts have also been raised about the authenticity of the decisions because of this.

Diokno said that given this, he could not help but ask whether the resolution, order and information in this case were among those manipulated.

Diokno also questioned the downgrading of the charges against the policemen to homicide from murder, and the outright dismissal of charges against six of them.

According to Diokno, the downgrading of the charges was puzzling considering that the UNTV video showed the victims to be unarmed and defenseless when they were shot, and when forensic evidence had debunked the policemen’s claim that they acted in self-defense. Forensic expert Raquel Fortun had investigated the matter.

As to the clearing of six policemen, he pointed out that all 11 officers had admitted to participating in the operation and shooting the victims allegedly in self-defense.

Diokno questioned as well the belated release of the July 11, 2011 order, which he said was released only in September and which complainants Jennifer Manzano and Monique Cu-Unjieng La’O received in October.

He also asked who had authorized the “sudden” filing in October of the information for homicide dated 2009 in the Pasig RTC. He said records he received did not indicate the identity of those who authorized the filing on October 10, 2011.

The policemen charged with homicide were Sr. Insp. Hansel Marantan, Sr. Insp. Samson Belmonte, PO3 Rizalito Ramos, PO3 Lloyd Soria and PO2 Dexter Bernadas from the Traffic Management Group.

Also implicated in the case, but cleared by the Office of the Ombudsman, were Chief Supt. Augusto Angcanan, Sr. Insp. Henry Cerdon, PO2 Jesus Fermin, PO2 Sonny Robrigado, PO2 Fernando Rey Gapuz and PO1 Josil Lucena.