Marantan shunning probers, is warned anew

NO RUBOUT Supt. Hansel Marantan, the ground commander in the Jan. 6 shootout in Atimonan, Quezon, insists the operation was not a rubout during an interview at St. Luke’s Medical Center at the Global City in Taguig. MARICAR P. CINCO / INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

Despite his claim to the contrary, Supt. Hansel Marantan has yet to submit himself to the investigation done by the Philippine National Police fact-finding team.

In a statement issued Wednesday night, the PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. maintained that Marantan had failed to submit his sworn statement and to present evidence to the investigators of the fact-finding team and the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM).

Cerbo said Marantan may be cited for obstruction of justice for his continued refusal to cooperate with the investigation of the Jan. 6 shooting that killed 13 people in Atimonan, Quezon.

Cerbo belied Marantan’s claim that he had submitted himself to the investigation done by the fact-finding team that PNP Director General Alan Purisima had created.

The PNP spokesperson said Marantan’s failure to cooperate with the investigation was “tantamount to unduly withholding the truth behind the death of 13 persons in that controversial Atimonan incident.”

“In this case, Marantan is now deemed as having waived his right to present his side. From here, the PNP will now initiate appropriate procedural actions to determine the administrative culpability of all parties concerned,” Cerbo said.

He said the PNP was duty-bound to provide the public with a reasonable explanation of the actions of all police personnel, including Marantan, involved in the shooting.

While the PNP would respect the right to due process of all police personnel involved in the operation, Cerbo said Marantan’s “continued refusal to give his statement and turnover evidence to DIDM investigators constitutes obstruction of justice and outright insubordination.”

“It is precisely the objective of the fact-finding body under the DIDM to determine whether or not the police operational procedures were violated in the incident,” Cerbo said.

He said the PNP would just let the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice (DOJ) finish the investigation of the possible criminal liabilities of police officials involved in the killings in Atimonan.

“Rest assured that the PNP will cooperate fully with the DOJ-NBI in this case,” said Cerbo.