NBI seeks raps vs PNP, PDEA agents in shootout

‘MISENCOUNTER’ Antinarcotics agents are accosted by policemen after a shootout near a mall in Quezon City in this file photo. —FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation on Monday recommended the filing of criminal charges against several members of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) who were involved in the Feb. 24 shootout that left three antinarcotics agents and a civilian informant dead.

The incident, which the authorities initially described as a “misencounter,” highlighted operational loopholes in the implementation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s contentious war on drugs.

Charged were Police Maj. Sandie Caparroso, Police Corporals Alvin Borja, Marlon Masiclat, Ronilo Prepose, Jason Coranez, Aries Curit, Marco Tapanan, James Dasalla, Christopher Alvarez and Raul Christian Zacarias Gandeza, and Police Lieutenants Honey Besas and Ronnie Ereno.

They all belonged to the District Special Operating Unit of the Quezon City Police District that engaged a group of PDEA agents in a gun battle in front of a fast-food restaurant along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Legitimate operations

Both groups claimed they were conducting legitimate antidrug operations at the time of the incident, which was caught on security cameras and cellphone videos of some witnesses.

A complaint for homicide was filed in the Department of Justice against Borja for the death of PDEA agent Rankin Gano while his superior, Caparroso, and his colleagues were charged with robbery, direct assault and consenting to evasion.

They were also charged with attempted homicide for the wounding of PDEA agents Jeffrey Baguidudol and Martin Matthew Soriano.

The NBI, on the other hand, brought a homicide case against PDEA agents Romeo Asuncion, Khee Maricar Pornobi Rodas, Jelou Juanitez Santiniaman, Jeffrey Panhon Baguidudol and Romeo Asuncion for the killing of Police Corporals Eric Elvin Garado and Lauro de Guzman.

NBI inquiry

The NBI, however, did not identify the individuals responsible for the death of Untong Matalnas, a PDEA civilian informant, who was also slain in the firefight.

PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva and then PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas immediately met after the incident to discuss the investigation to be carried out by a board of inquiry composed of officials from the two law enforcement agencies.

Duterte, however, directed the NBI to handle the inquiry to ensure fairness and transparency.