MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) investigators looking into the death of a teenager in last week’s police operation in Laguna expect to secure the autopsy and other forensics reports on Monday.
The relatives of 16-year-old Jhondy Maglinte also are yet to give statements on the June 16 incident in Barangay Canlalay, Biñan City although they have been insisting that the teenager had been murdered by police operatives who were after Maglinte’s companion and drug suspect Antonio Dalit. Both the drug suspect and the 16-year-old were killed in an alleged shootout with the police operatives.
Videos uploaded on June 17 in social media by Maglinte’s relatives were inconclusive as they consisted mainly of blurred shots of a thick cover of forest and audible commentaries of supposed witnesses who were apparently discussing what they thought was going on and sounds of gunfire.
In a report by the local internal affairs service (IAS) offices last Saturday, they said, “On June 18 the Laguna provincial and regional IAS investigators personally visited and talked to the relatives of the deceased (Maglinte) to get their affidavits of complaint.”
They noted that personnel of the Commission on Human Rights were also speaking to Maglinte’s kin at the time of their visit.
“The relatives said to our investigators that they are not yet ready (to) give statements. Nevertheless, we gave them our numbers with assurance that the investigation will be fair and just,” they pointed out.
The report stated that they expected the PNP crime laboratory to submit on Monday the autopsy report and the results of the paraffin tests and ballistics examination.
Ten members of the 1st district Laguna intelligence unit, including its head Capt. Fernando Credo, were placed under restrictive custody of the Calabarzon police office and were subjected to paraffin testing. Ballistics exams were also conducted by the police crime laboratory on their firearms.
PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar has tasked the PNP-Internal Affairs Service (IAS) to determine if the police operatives committed police operating procedure lapses in the process of serving Dalit his arrest warrant which resulted in the death of the drug suspect and the teenager.
He called on the teenager’s family and other persons who may have witnessed the incident to give their statements to the PNP-IAS and other investigating bodies to help determine what really happened.
While he said that none of the police operatives will be shielded by the PNP in the probe, Eleazar assured that witnesses to the incident would be given ample protection.