Homicide raps on vs watchman, 9 cops who shot wrong vehicle

Metro Manila police chief Director Oscar Albayalde confronts the Mandaluyong City policemen involved in the Dec. 28 shooting incident. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

The Mandaluyong City prosecutor’s office has approved the filing of homicide and frustrated homicide charges against the nine policemen and the village watchman who fired at the wrong van and killed two of its occupants and wounded two others in December last year.

In a resolution signed on Jan. 15, City Prosecutor Bernabe Augustus Solis approved the charges recommended against Barangay Addition Hills tanod Wilmer Doron, Police Officers 1 Jave Arellano, Alberto Buag, Mark Castillo, Tito Danao, Kim Tibunsay, Bryan Nicolas, Julius Libuen, Alfred Uribe, and PO2 Nel Songalia.

The recommendation was made by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Arnold Magpantay.

Leader still under probe

Solis also set bail at a total of P128,000 for each respondent. The amount is for two counts of homicide (P40,000 for each count) and two counts of frustrated homicide (P24,000 each).

Senior Insp. Maria Cristina Vasquez, leader of the team that responded to the incident, is still set to undergo preliminary investigation on Jan 22. She remains under restrictive custody of the acting city police chief.

On the night of Dec. 28, a group of watchmen from Addition Hills and later a responding police team chased and fired at a Mitsubishi Adventure which they thought was carrying gunmen from an earlier shooting incident. It turned out that the vehicle, which was shot at least 36 times, was taking a wounded woman to the hospital.

Killed were Jonalyn Amba-an, who already had a gunshot wound from the earlier attack, and Jomar Hayawon. Two other persons in the vehicle—Danilo Santiago and Eliseo Aluad—were also hit in the chase that ended in Barangay Pleasant Hills.

Test not conclusive

Of the 10 respondents, only Songalia, Nicolas, Libuen,  Doron and Tibunsay later tested positive for gun powder nitrates.

But citing past court rulings, Magpantay still recommended the filing of homicide and frustrated homicide charges against all of them, saying negative paraffin results are not conclusive proof that a person did not fire a gun.

“The court has even recognized the great possibility that there will be no paraffin traces on the hand if, as if in the instant case, the bullet was fired from a .45-caliber pistol,” the prosecutor added.

“The respondents acted in the performance of their duty,” Magpantay said. “However, the injuries inflicted and the offense committed were not the necessary consequence of (their) lawful exercise of such duty. (They) were not completely justified in shooting at Aluad’s group.”