Eleazar: Cop tagged in boy’s death was not in a shootout

Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, NCRPO chief, visits the wake of Gian Habal, who was killed last Sunday, April 28, by a stray bullet in Caloocan City, (Photo from NCRPO)

MANILA, Philippines — There is no evidence to back the claim of a police officer that he engaged a drug suspect in a shootout last April 28, during which a stray bullet killed a 6-year-old boy, according to Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Eleazar said in Filipino: “I believe that no encounter took place based on the evidence that we have gathered.”

Cpl. Rocky delos Reyes was accused of killing Gian Habal, for which a murder case was filed against him at the Caloocan City Prosecutor’s Office.

Last Sunday afternoon, Habal was playing outside his house in Camarin, Caloocan City, when a bullet hit him in the forehead. He died in the hospital where he was taken.

Eleazar clarified to INQUIRER.net that witnesses affirmed that the suspect did not engage a drug suspect in a shootout.

“It was just an allegation that he was in a shootout with somebody. But the witnesses said there was no shootout,” Eleazar said in a phone interview.

He assured the public that Delos Reyes would be sanctioned.

“I’m going to make sure that he (Delos Reyes) will be axed. His days as a member of the Philippine National Police are numbered,” Eleazar said.

When Delos Reyes’ surrendered to authorities, he claimed that he saw  a drug suspect a certain Jovannie Mosquito in Camarin and he tried to arrest him. But the suspect resisted, leading to a shootout.

/atm