NBI-7 can reopen probe on vigilante killings if…

No  one was arrested or brought to trial  for the rash of  vigilante killings of suspected hoodlums in Cebu City in 2005.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) ceased its   investigation over six years ago but an official yesterday said it was  willing to reopen its inquiry  after the issue of extrajudicial killings resurfaced in a declassified US cable made public through Wikileaks.

“These (WikiLeaks reports) are rumors yet. Give us some hard evidence,” said NBI-7 Assistant Director Lauro Reyes.

He said  they want to get to the bottom of the killings which were the subject of a 2005 declassified US cable.

“Murder can never be justified,” said Reyes.

He said anyone who incites  or instigates extrajudicial  killings could be held liable for murder.

The cable was supposedly issued by US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone Jr. who gave an overview of the issue and reported that Cebu officials and the public appeared to condone the summary executions of criminal suspects.

The “embassy memo” was referred to as Cable 05MANILA1774, entitled “Latest Vigilante Killings in Cebu—No End in Sight.”

In it, Ricciardone expressed the US government’s concern over the spate of killings supposedly perpetrated by unidentified vigilantes.

The memo,  citing media reports, mentioned Tomas Osmeña, who was Cebu City mayor then, as having announced the ceration of a  “Hunter Team” or  special police squad  to go after criminals in the city.

Among those the Ambassador said had expressed support for tthe Hunter Team were Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia; Director Alejandro Alonso of the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR-7); and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

The diplomat reported that   Osmeña  denied any hand in the summary executions of 41 people killed since December 2004  “while noting that, as a result of the vigilante killings, crime in Cebu has gone down.”

Capitol Consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda yesterday  declined to comment on the WikiLeaks report of the US Embassy memo which mentioned Governor Garcia’s name.

“Basically, it can’t bring us anywhere unless there is someone who will come out and admit he is responsible for the reports,” Sepulveda said.

Karapatan Central Visayas yesterday said local officials and business leaders were never clear about their stand on vigilantes.

Senior Supt. Melvin Buenafe, Cebu City police chief, said they hardly get reports of  summary executions now  under his watch.

Mayor Michael Rama repeated his opposition to vigilante killings. He also  questioned the veracity of the WikiLeaks report.

“The way of getting information is improper and in fact is against the law,” he said.

Rama said hoped that the WikiLeaks report won’t spin off into a trial by publicity of local officials.

Osmeña, who is now a Cebu City congressman of the south district, repeated his denial of involvement in the rash of killings.

He said he was too busy going after criminals during his tenure as mayor.

“Who do you think I should  prioritize, going after criminals or vigilantes?” he said.

“I don’t like vigilante killings but what is worse than vigilante killings is the killing of innocent people, raping them and tearing apart the hearts of their parents who sent their children to Cebu City. They trusted that  the city would be safer,” Osmeña said. /By Ador Vincent Mayol, Reporter