Pasay prosecutors earn praise from detained de Lima

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima commended the Pasay City prosecutor’s office for the indictment of two policemen who shot and killed an arrested drug suspect and his father, who were among of the first casualties of President Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.

De Lima issued a statement from Camp Crame on Thursday in praise of the legal action taken against PO2 Alipio Balo Jr. and PO1 Michael Tomas over the killing of JP Bertes and his father Renato in July last year.

“When the Senate Justice Committee which I formerly chaired led the investigation into the killing of the Berteses, among others, it found out glaring evidence that these two police officers did not only blatantly ignore the standard operating procedures in arresting suspected drug offenders but also deliberately and permanently silenced the Berteses to cover up their own involvement in the illegal drug trade themselves,” De Lima said.

The senator stressed that the police should “strictly adhere to the rights of the accused, including but not limited to due process of law and the presumption of innocence, as guaranteed by the Constitution even to suspected criminals.”

“Our government must, however, step up its efforts in resolving several other cases involving extrajudicial and summary killings and imposing strictest penalties, including imprisonment, especially against erring and abusive law enforcers. We need to send a strong signal that any police excesses will never go unpunished,” she added.

In a recent resolution, the Pasay City prosecutor’s office recommended the filing of murder charges against Balo and Tomas.

It noted that the medical evidence, mainly the location of the gunshot wounds, did not support the policemen’s claim that the Berteses were shot because they tried to grab Balo’s gun. JP then had just been arrested on drug charges, with Renato keeping him company at the police station.

The findings “instead suggest an execution,” according to the resolution signed by Senior Assistant City Prosecutors Remmel Balinbin and Alan Mangabat, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Clarisa Kuong and City Prosecutor officer in charge Benjamin Lanto.