Cop dropped from Maguindanao massacre case seeks reinstatement

MANILA, Philippines—The only policeman to have been dropped from the Maguindanao massacre charge list is now asking the National Police Commission for his reinstatement as there are no other pending criminal cases against him.

Police Officer 1 Johann Draper, in a motion filed with the Napolcom by his lawyer Fernando Peña , noted that the Quezon City court trying the Maguindanao massacre case  dismissed all 57 counts of murder against him in July 2010.

Although released from detention, Draper still faces an administrative case for gross misconduct in the Napolcom in connection with the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

Peña lodged an urgent motion to resolve the administrative case with a prayer for reinstatement with the Napolcom, which hears administrative cases involving police officers.

“It is respectfully prayed that the pending incident be now resolved to the effect of dismissing the instant administrative case for lack of prima facie evidence. The respondent likewise prays that he be reinstated to service,” the motion said.

Draper noted he was the only accused in the Maguindanao massacre case dropped from the charge sheet.

In July 2010, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Regional Trial Court Branch 221 dismissed the murder cases against the policeman, citing lack of probable cause.

Draper lamented that even with the dismissal of the criminal charges, the Napolcom has not acted on his two-year old plea to resolve the administrative aspect.

He added that he was detained and practically rendered jobless after being linked to the massacre.

“Because of the administrative case against him, his salaries and benefits were withheld as he could not find a decent job in order to support his family up to the present due to the social stigma he suffered,” the pleading said.

Peña explained that since the court dismissed the criminal case, the administrative case should likewise be dropped.

The pleading said Draper was being deprived of his job as a policeman even though the court already found him innocent.

“Unless the pending incident is resolved, the respondent is certainly bound to suffer injustice as well as great and irreparable damage not only on his part but also his own family,” Peña said.

In 2009, Draper was the bodyguard of one of the sons of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the primary suspect in the landmark case.

The number of accused in the case has dropped from 197 to 195, with Draper’s exclusion and the alleged suicide of PO2 Hernanie Decipulo who supposedly jumped from a fourth floor of the detention building in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, in February 2012.