Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—A separate case for obstruction of justice will be filed against members of the Philippine National Police for tampering with evidence in the Atimonan shootout, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Wednesday.
At a press conference, De Lima said the crime scene was contaminated after the victim’s body and the set up were arranged to make it appear that there was a shootout.
“There was tampering of evidence after the incident to make it appear that the victims exchanged gunfire with the PNP (Philippine National Police) and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) personnel including firing of the victim’s weapons after the victims had been dead and placing the weapons near the hands of the victims,” De Lima said Wednesday at a press conference.
Citing the recommendation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), she said that the firearms surrendered to them by those tagged in the incident were different from the firearm used during the Jan. 6 shooting.
Meanwhile, De Lima said she will create a panel to conduct the formal preliminary investigation based on the findings of the NBI.
As many as 21 PNP personnel and 14 members of the military are facing a complaint for frustrated murder for the Quezon shootout that led to the death of 13 people.
Other findings of the National Bureau of Investigation include:
* There is no showing that any of the passengers inside the two vehicles fired their firearms due to the absence of gunshot residue
* Forensic chemistry report of Julieta Flores, a senior forensic chemist from NBI, states that there is no indication that any of the passengers of the two vehicles fired shots;
* Superintendent Hansel Marantan’s gunshot wounds are inconsistent with the claim that somebody inside the two vehicle fired at him;
* While ballistic result showed that the bullet recovered from Marantan came from the .45 caliber of Gerry Siman, it was physically impossible for his position to fire at Marantan;
* The windows of the two vehicles were forcibly opened.
“There was no indication that the victims fired a weapon from within due to the absence of powder burns from their vehicles, supporting testimonial accounts of three eye witnesses,” De Lima said saying that the witnesses participated in the ocular inspection and re-enactment of the events.
She said the findings were very disturbing because “some of the victims were either already slumped on the ground or seated inside the SUV but were still fired upon by the operatives.”