INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines —The fisherfolk couple from Batangas, among the victims of the simultaneous serving of a search warrant in 2021, now known as “Bloody Sunday,” were killed using one firearm that did not match any of the guns of the 17 policemen accused of murder, a panel of prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a resolution.
Ariel and his wife Ana Mariz “Chai” Lemita Evangelista, who led their community in opposing the construction of at least 150 fish cases on the fishing grounds of Nasugbu, Batangas, were among the nine killed in a series of raids in Calabarzon on March 6, 2021.
After investigations conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), murder complaints were filed in 2022 against 17 members of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) Region 4-A.
READ: NBI files murder raps vs 17 cops in ‘Bloody Sunday’ raid
Witnesses close to the victims said Ana Mariz was dragged by the authorities from their house to another cottage while her husband followed without showing signs of any resistance. While inside the cabin, successive gunshots were heard.
But in its resolution, the prosecution panel dismissed the murder complaint against the 17 police officers.
Cleared of two counts of murder are the following: Lt. Col. Joseph Tan Nandu Jr., Lt. Arjay Mansalapuz Santos, MSgs. Rafael N. Roque and Mark T. Tolentino, Ssgs. Elvern D. Cacatian, Rodel A. Sillacay, and Edgar B. Brinas, Cpls. Aldrin E. Gabrillo, and Allen S. Lugue and Patrolmans Julio Bautista, Ray Boom Boom D. Dalingay, Grizzly O. Paras, Rogelio M. Ninolla, Ruel M. Tenoso, Rich John Melniel L. Tumacder, Renzo B. Santos and Mark Lester R. Padul.
Unidentified firearm
The resolution cited an NBI report stating that the couple was killed using only one 5.56 mm firearm. However, “ownership of the firearm…found at the area of the shooting was not even identified.”
The resolution noted that of the 17 police officers, only Santos was carrying a 5.56 mm firearm similar to the one that killed the couple, while the others had a 9mm caliber gun.
But based on the documents submitted by Santos, his weapon “was not the firearm used to fire the bullets which were recovered from the area where the shooting occurred.”
The resolution also noted that the service firearms of the police officers have no missing bullets or cartridges.
Police participation
The police said they were not even able to fire their guns.
Nandu and Santos said after knocking at the door of the Evangelista couple’s house; they heard gunshots forcing them to dock and retreat to a safe position. After the gunshots were cleared, they entered the house and found the victims wounded. Nandu ordered that the two be taken to the hospital.
Sillacay, Gabrillo, Dalingay, R. Santos, Padul, Ninolla, and Tumacder said they only acted as perimeter security while Tolentino, Cacatian, and Lugue were assigned to be the “blocking force.” As a result, they stayed on the highway 300 meters from the incident.
Roque, the investigator, and Paras, the designated arresting officer, were 30 meters away from the house when they heard the gunshots, while Bautista and Tenoso, the designated searchers, arrived late.
Briñas was in Laguna when the incident occurred, based on the affidavit of his superiors and the Daily Personnel Accounting Report.
“It would be highly speculative to assume that respondents agreed among themselves to kill spouses Evangelista when there are records which showed that the PNP conducted pre-operation preparations in implementing the search warrants,” read the resolution.
“Taking all these established facts into consideration…the charge of murder necessarily falls,” the resolutions stated.
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