For the first time, government lawyers has not opposed the protection plea by a survivor and kin of victims of “Oplan Tokhang” in Payatas, Quezon City.
READ: Survivor, victims’ kin question drug war in Supreme court
The petition was filed by Efren Morillo, the survivor in the Tokhang operation in August last year. He was joined in the petition by the families of slain drug suspects Marcelo Daa Jr., Raffy Gabo, Anthony Comendo and Jessie Cule in filing the petition through the legal assistance of the Center for International Law (CIL).
READ: First petition vs Duterte’s ‘Tokhang’ filed at SC
They sought protection saying that even after almost six months, the police kept on going back to their area and harassing Morillo and the witnesses in the August 2016 attack.
“We thank the Assistant Solicitor General for admitting to the merits of the petition…We can now sit down and spell out the specifics (referring to the final protection order),” counsel for the petitioners led by Atty. Joel Butuyan stated.
The petition was originally filed before the Supreme Court. The high court issued a temporary protection order (TPO) prohibiting the respondents from entering within a radius of one kilometer from residence and work of the petitioners and ordered the Court of Appeals to conduct a hearing.
The high court also prevented operatives of Station 6, which conducted the operation in the area in August last year, from entering the residence and workplaces of petitioners within a one-kilometer radius.
During Friday’s hearing, Assistant Solicitor General Herman Cimafranca said he shared the position of the petitioners that they and all the residents Payatas must be protected and their rights ensured.
“It is the constitutional duty of the State and its officers to protect and guarantee the right of every citizen to life, liberty and security,” Cimafranca said.
“That’s the reason why we did not oppose it and we join the petitioners in giving protection to them kasi trabaho namin yun eh di ba (because it’s our job) otherwise we would look stupid if we would oppose that,” Cimafranca added.
Named respondents in the petition were the Philippine National Police (PNP), represented by its chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa; Senior Superintendent Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar, Quezon City Police District director; Superintendent Lito Patay, QCPD station 6 commander; Senior Inspector Emil S. Garcia; PO3 Allan Formilleza; PO1 James Aggarao and PO1 Melchor Navisaga.
While the petitioners have welcomed the government’s move not to oppose their plea, they still have mixed emotions about the case.
Atty. Gil Aquino, counsel for the petitioners said “they were relieved first because of the expeditious proceeding, they felt they were able to get some kind of justice.”
However, he said they will not accept the fact that what has transpired was a legitimate police operation.
“That is something we will try to prove in other proceeding,” Aquino said.
Petitioners urged the appeals court to order the transfer of the police officers involved to an area outside of Quezon City.
Eleazar said the involved police officers are under restricted custody and doing administrative works in Quezon City.
The police also said that there is an ongoing investigation to determine the liability of the police officers involved.
The appeals court has submitted the case for decision. RAM/rga