Cascolan defends Rizal cops who left alleged EJK victim unguarded in hospital

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Camilo Cascolan on Friday defended the decision of Angono, Rizal cops to leave unprotected a supposed victim of summary execution while being treated inside a hospital, claiming that there no longer seemed to have any more threat then at the health center.

The man, identified as Vincent Adia, believed a victim of extra-judicial killing, was brought to the hospital last November 4 to be treated for gunshot wounds that he sustained following an assassination plot by unknown assailants. Adia was later on shot dead twice while lying on his hospital bed.

“Actually, kasi there was really no threat anymore. Siguro tama rin yung ginawa ng ating mga kapulisan but we will have to investigate bakit hindi sila nag iwan because they were thinking already that everything was done to its best efforts,” Cascolan told reporters at Camp Crame, Quezon City when asked about Angono police guards’ decision to leave the hospital moments before Adia was shot dead.

(Actually, there was really no threat anymore. Maybe our police officers were right but we will have to investigate why they did that because they were thinking already that everything was done to its best efforts.)

“Hindi naman natin masisi kung minsan ang ating mga kapulisan dahil hindi naman na kailangan siguro bantayan iyon dahil walang threat. There is no threat and they didn’t know actually what was the incident about,” he added.

(We can’t blame our police officers sometimes because maybe we don’t have to guard the victim because there was no threat. There is no threat and they didn’t know actually what the incident was about.)

Nonetheless, Cascolan said he will not tolerate the lapses of their troops. He noted that the police officers who had left Adia are now placed under investigation.

“Actually those are already under investigation pati iyong mga pulis natin imbestigahan natin kung may kinalaman nga sila or whatever because iyon nga ang lumalabas kung minsan may mga sisi sa mga pulis but we will do our best to investigate,” Cascolan said when he was questioned about police actions in the fatal shooting incident.

(Actually, they are already under investigation even the police will investigate if they have influence or whatever because those are the suspicions that they are blaming the police.)

“We have to presume of course that our policemen did their best also. But for any wrongdoing that they have done, we never tolerate it,” he added.

Cops’ defense

This after Police Major Richard Corpuz, Angono police chief, disclosed that police officers left Adia at the Angono, Rizal hospital because they needed to go to Adia’s family at Antipolo, Rizal.

Corpuz also noted that it was the attending physician who requested to talk with the victim’s family, who is not responding to lawmen’s messages.

“Ang ginawa namin, so kailangan namin puntahan iyong police na nakaduty kasi magtatanghali na. Kailangan magamot na si Adia o mailipat sa ibang hospital. Pinuntahan namin sa Antipolo iyong relative so nagkaroon ng salisi, sinalisihan iyong police natin pagkaalis,” he said over an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel this Friday.

(So what we did, we visited the duty police officer. Adia needs to be transferred to another hospital. So we went to Antipolo for the relatives. The suspect then went to hospital after the police had gone.)

Corpuz said minutes after the police left the hospital, the gunman shot dead Adia, who is still being treated.

“Mayroong dalawa. And then noong mismong kasama papuntang Antipolo, sumaglit lang sa police station then iyon paglabas pumasok na iyong suspect. Then, binaril na iyong biktima,” he said when asked how many policemen were guarding Adia at the hospital.

(There were two guards. And then when they were about to go to Antipolo, they went to the police station and then after they left, the suspect shot the victim.)

EJK survivor no more

Prior to the killing, Adia managed to survive an alleged extrajudicial killing. He played dead even after he was shot three times to the face.

But after he was rescued and brought to a hospital for treatment, a gunman entered the emergency room and shot the victim dead.

The Commission on Human Rights has given its assurance that it has already dispatched a team to investigate the killing inside a Rizal province hospital of a man who was recuperating after surviving an alleged attempted extrajudicial killing.

EDV