ANGUISHED HOMECOMING Rodaliza Baltazar, a migrant worker, weeps upon arriving at her Navotas City home and seeing the body of her 17-year-old son Jerhode, who was shot dead by the police on Aug. 2 in a case of mistaken identity. Charges have been filed against the six officers concerned. —LYN RILLON
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine National Police assured the family of teenager Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar that they will help get justice for the 17-year-old who was mistakenly killed by Navotas City police.
Both Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. made the same assurance when they separately went to Baltazar’s wake on Thursday, a day before the arrival of the boy’s mother Rodaliza Baltazar, who was working in the Middle East.
Rodaliza arrived from Qatar on Friday, fetched by officials of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) who also had to make arrangements with Qatari officials because Rodaliza had a pending labor case before Jemboy was killed.
The DMW earlier said in its website that Rodaliza had been hiding from Qatari authorities since last year because she ran away from her former employer and she had been working odd jobs so she could continue to send money home.
However, on Aug. 2, her son Jemboy, who was cleaning a boat so he could go out to work fishing with a friend, was shot dead by police who mistook him for another suspect they were pursuing for another killing in Barangay NBBS Kaunlaran.
The DMW officials said that Rodaliza asked for privacy to grieve, but Jemboy’s sister Jessa wanted the guilty to “answer for what they did to my brother. They should suffer for what they did.”
‘We will hide nothing’
During his visit to the wake, Acorda said “we will hide nothing.” He said there would be no whitewash nor special treatment and he also promised to provide protection for the Baltazar family.
Acorda said all six police officers involved were already detained at the Navotas City police headquarters and charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide have been filed.
Administrative charges were also lodged against the six cops and their two team leaders, who were charged with grave neglect of duty, according to PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo.Fajardo said the administrative cases should be resolved within 60 days.
Navotas City police chief Col. Allan Umipig also said that all the 27 police officers assigned to Sub-Station 4 were immediately relieved, including the station commander, but they were not identified.
Abalos, for his part, said he summoned top PNP officials to discuss the police’s operational procedure in such incidents, including command responsibility.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also stressed the importance of accountability to prevent a repetition of the incident.
The CHR said in a statement that the agency was already investigating the incident independently.
“As our own independent investigation pursues the truth behind the incident, CHR stresses the importance of upholding the right to life. Lapses leading to the curtailment of a person’s life is a grave and irreversible violation of a human right,” the CHR statement read.
Former PNP chief and incumbent Sen. Ronald dela Rosa also urged the PNP to revisit its training program.
The senator, who oversaw the government’s bloodiest anti-drug campaign when he was the PNP chief from 2016 to 2019, said the Police National Training Institute should lead the review as the PNP’s primary training unit.