Rizal police office probes security lapses in EJK survivor’s slay

MANILA, Philippines — The Rizal Provincial Police Office is investigating possible lapses committed by police officers of the Angono Police who guarded Vincent Adia, an alleged extrajudicial killing survivor who was later shot dead while being treated at a hospital in Angono, Rizal on Nov. 4, Angono police chief Major Richard Corpuz said Friday.

“Under investigation iyan, ipinapatawag tayo ng [Rizal] Provincial Office para madetermine iyong lapses ng PNP [Philippine National Police] sa pag-se-secure doon sa tao,” Corpuz said over ABS-CBN News Channel when asked if there are lapses in how the police officers secured Adia at the hospital.

(It is still under investigation. We were called by the Rizal Provincial Office to determine if there were lapses by the Philippine National Police in securing the victim.)

On Wednesday, police reports said Adia survived an alleged extrajudicial killing by playing dead after being shot three times to the face. Adia was later killed after an unidentified gunman shot him twice at the hospital’s emergency room.

Meanwhile, Corpuz said they discovered the injured Adia two kilometers away from the Angono hospital at 3:30 a.m.

However, Corpuz said the attending physician informed them that they need to talk to the victims’ relatives.

Police went to the victim’s family in Antipolo, Rizal after the latter failed to respond to their text messages.

“We were informed by the doctor na kailangan kausapin iyong pamilya, so we sent messages doon sa possible relatives niya and then walang nag-[respond],” Corpuz said.

(The doctor told us they need to talk to the family so we sent messages to possible relatives, but there was no response.)

“Ang ginawa namin, so kailangan namin puntahan iyong police na nakaduty kasi magtatanghali na. Kailangan magamot na si Adia o mailipat sa ibang hospital. Pinuntahan namin sa Antipolo iyong relative,” he added.

(So what we did, we visited the duty police officer. Adia needs to be transferred to another hospital. So we went to Antipolo for the relatives. The suspect then went to the hospital after the police have left.)

Corpuz said ten minutes after the police left the hospital, an unidentified assailant fatally shot the victim twice.

“Siguro tinitignan ko sa CCTV, umabot ng mga ten minutes (I checked the CCTV, the suspect reached the hospital over ten minutes),” he said when the news anchor asked about the number of minutes between the gunman’s entrance to the hospital and the police officer’s exit.

Witnesses said the gunman was wearing black shorts and a face mask and has a height of 5 feet 4 inches or 5 feet 5 inches tall, Corpuz said.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said they are already investigating the fatal shooting of Adia.

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