CA orders transfer of cops to protect ‘Tokhang’ survivor, kin of victims

The Court of Appeals. (Photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

The Court of Appeals (CA) has made permanent the protection order issued in favor of a survivor and relatives of victims of Oplan Tokhang in Payatas, Quezon City.

The court issued the resolution hours after it conducted a hearing on the writ of amparo petition filed by lone survivor Efren Morillo and the relatives of Marcelo Daa Jr., Raffy Gabo, Anthony Comendo, and Jessie Kule.

“The Temporary Protection Order is converted to a permanent one,” the court said. “The prohibition from entering within a radius of one (1) kilometer from the residences and work addresses of the petitioners shall cover respondents P/SI Emil S. Garcia, P03 Allan Formilleza, P01 James Aggarao and P01 Melchor Navisaga and any of their agents.”

The court also ordered the transfer of the said police officers to an area outside Quezon City and Montalban in Rizal..

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has also been ordered not to implement Oplan Tokhang against the petitioners.

The petitioners asked for the reassignment of the police officers to prevent them from further harassing them.

The CA also ordered the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) to provide Morillo and the families of the slain victims the results of their investigation.

During the hearing, the police said an investigation is being conducted to determine the culpability of the police officers.

The CA also directed Director General Ronald de la Rosa, PNP chief, to make sure that the orders would be followed.

The ruling was signed by Associate Justices Apolinaro Bruselas Jr., Danton Bueser, and Renato Francisco. /atm