Drug suspect who accused cop of rape joins ‘kill list’

During the first 100 days of President Duterte’s all-out war on drugs, unidentified assailants have killed many suspected drug pushers and users after they have been named in police “watch lists.”

One of them, known to her family and neighbors as “Lola,” is lying in a coffin in Mandaluyong City and will soon be buried, possibly along with her complaint against a police officer she had accused of rape.

Until her death, 49-year-old Chita “Lola” Sablan has been fighting for justice for the alleged rape by a Mandaluyong City police officer inside a detention facility in 2014.

The Inquirer visited her wake six days after she was shot in Barangay Addition Hills, which city police chief Senior Supt. Joaquin Alva described as one of the heavily drug-infested communities in Mandaluyong.

For some, she was a known pusher. For the police, she could be a fabricator of lies to cover her deeds. For her family, she was a victim of injustice.

There are two other wakes for possible drug-related rubout victims at Welfareville Compound in Addition Hills. One of them is Angelo Bondoc, 20, who was shot by unknown assailants at past midnight Wednesday inside a basketball court while he was watching a game. The third victim was another woman.  Details of her death were not immediately available, said barangay officer Jonathan Villaflores. No suspects have been arrested in any of the three killings.

The Mandaluyong police have reported that 12 people have been killed by unknown gunmen in possible drug-related hits, while eight others died in police operations since July.

Eight of those killed were residents of Addition Hills,

said barangay officer Roberto Coronel.

Sablan was gunned down by four masked men around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 1.

A witness said she saw the men wearing ski masks on two motorcycles roaming the neighborhood. When Sablan came out to dispose of the contents of her “arinola,” one of them, who apparently recognized her, tried to talk to her. Moments later another man shot Sablan at the back of her head.

An investigator said she may have known her killers.

Fear and panic

Sablan’s family members, who now fear for their lives, have declined to pursue a formal investigation into her death, Coronel said. Sablan, who is separated from her husband, left two children.

Motorcycle riders, some of them actually plainclothes officers, conduct surveillance and frequently visit the community, causing fear and panic among residents who dread rumors that drug users and pushers on the watch list would soon be finished off.

Alva alleged that Sablan was a notorious pusher and No. 8 on the city’s drug watch list.

A close relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the police or those involved in the drug trade, said Sablan was both a user and a pusher. “But she has stopped,” the relative said.

In December 2015, Sablan escaped from a police raid on her house, which was being used for a “pot session.” The police did not pursue  a case against her.

About a year earlier, Sablan was arrested inside her house and detained on illegal drugs charges. The charges were later dropped.

After her release, she filed grave misconduct charges before the National Police Commission (Napolcom) against PO2 Domingo Menes Jr., one of the six officers who arrested her, according to Napolcom lawyer Gary Sigarra who handled the case.

Oral sex

Sablan accused Menes of forcing her to perform oral sex on him while she was alone in a detention facility. Menes could not be reached for comment.

He has been absent from his post since he was reassigned to the traffic investigation unit early this week. A fellow officer said Menes has suffered embarassment and depression over the “false accusation.”

Rosanna Cabuena, a staff clerk at the Station Anti-Illegal Drug (SAID) unit, said Sablan’s rape tale was unbelievable. “Menes has been with us for four years. He is a very good and kind man. He could not have done it,” she said.

Sigarra said Menes has denied Sablan’s accusations. Menes claimed Sablan was not arrested and detained at the police station, making the alleged rape improbable, Sigarra said.

Alva said suspects sometimes file countercharges against officers as a form of harassment or revenge or to hamper their operations.

Sablan will be buried today. Her pending case at the Napolcom will soon be resolved despite her death, said Sigarra.