NBI starts probe of Christmas Eve shootout at Angeles mall

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has summoned personnel of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) police department who were involved in the shooting of a cop at a mall parking lot last Christmas Eve.

Senior Supt. Sidney Villaflor, director of the Angeles City Police Office (ACPO), said a joint team composed of the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) was formed to conduct further investigation into the death of PO1 Jomar Batul.

Batul died in a shootout with mall guards and CDC personnel on Dec. 24, 2015.

A CDC member had accosted Batuk, who was implicated in the attempted theft of a motorcycle inside the Clark Freeport.

The CDC report states that Batul shot at their employee, prompting mall security to retaliate.

Batul died after suffering five gunshot wounds, two of them at the back of his head.

“They summoned the CDC police this week at the NBI headquarters in Manila. Next week they will invite the mall guards (who assisted the CDC police in the shooting incident),” Villaflor said.

The relatives of Batul reached out to the NBI, insisting that the policeman, who came from Mindoro, was here on a holiday with his family, and could not have tried to steal a motorcycle.

They also complained that authorities were unable to recover from the crime scene the gun Batul supposedly used in the firefight.

Villaflor said the NBI-PNP team had requested the prosecutor handling the case to cooperate with its investigation.

He also urged witnesses of the clash at the parking lot to contact the Angeles police.