Drug war: Homicide raps filed vs 10 cops over teen’s death

MANILA, Philippines — A homicide case was filed on Monday against 10 policemen who took part in an anti-drug operation last month in Biñan City, Laguna province, where the suspect and his teenage companion were killed after they allegedly fought it out with the officers.

The Philippine National Police regional command in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) took legal action against the policemen over the death of 16-year-old Johndy Maglinte Helis, based on the complaint-affidavit of his mother Cristina.

The relatives of Antonio Dalit, the target of the June 16 operation, did not press charges.

Named as respondents in the homicide complaint filed in the Biñan City prosecutor’s office were 10 members of the Laguna police intelligence unit, namely Capt. Fernando Credo, Senior Master Sgt. Mark Lester Yonzon, Staff Sergeants Ricky Sacurom, Elmer Belaro and Rodrigo Velarde Jr; Corporals Felix Nico Agudong, Leonardo Roldan, Gilbert Florentino and Christopher San Jose; and Patrolman Rowie Cadangan.

They all remain under the restrictive custody of PNP Calabarzon.

The case stemmed from the operation conducted by a team led by Credo who went to Barangay Canlalay, Biñan, to serve an arrest warrant on Dalit, who was listed among the province’s most wanted men.

The police claimed that the operation ended in a shootout after Dalit and Helis fought back, resulting in their deaths.

According to the officers, two .38-caliber revolvers belonging to Dalit and Helis, as well as 50 grams of “shabu’’ (crystal meth) worth P340,000, drug paraphernalia, and P3,500 in cash, were recovered from the scene.

In handcuffs

But Helis’ family disputed the official PNP report, saying the teenager—who never owned a gun—was summarily executed.

The teenager’s aunt Nylla said there were witnesses in the neighborhood who saw Dalit being shot by the officers after he tried to flee. Helis, on the other hand, was in handcuffs when last seen alive and was heard pleading for his life before he was shot, she said.

“I just want justice served for my nephew. Whether he had done something wrong or not, they should not have killed him,’’ Nylla said. “He begged for them to spare his life but they still brutally killed him.’’

An autopsy conducted on Helis and Dalit in the course of the police investigation showed them having no other injuries except for bullet wounds. Paraffin tests found traces of gunpowder nitrate on their bodies.

The PNP Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) earlier initiated a precharge investigation of the 10 Laguna policemen for grave irregularity in the performance of duty, an administrative offense. Included in the probe was the head of the Laguna police intelligence unit, Lt. Col. Arvin Avelino, on account of command responsibility.

Not ignored

In a statement on Wednesday, PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar said the homicide charge filed against Laguna policemen proved that the PNP does not ignore accusations of abuse and irregularity against its members.

Eleazar appealed to Helis’ family and the public not to preempt how the Biñan city prosecutor’s handling of the complaint and “allow (it) to appreciate the submitted evidence and facts of the incident.”

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) earlier expressed concern over the killing of Helis, counting it among the latest “nanlaban’’ narratives put forth by the PNP whenever its operations carrying out President Duterte’s war on drugs are questioned. The CHR noted accounts that the minor was shot after being shoved face-down into the mud. —With a report FROM Inquirer Research INQ