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THE Department of Justice yesterday filed two counts of murder against each of the 25 Parañaque policemen involved in the death of a seafarer and his daughter during a shootout with the Waray-Waray Ozamis robbery gang on Dec. 5, 2008.

The charges were filed by State Prosecutor Stewart Allan Mariano before the Parañaque regional trial court after the DOJ found probable cause to indict the respondents for the death of Alfonso "Jun" de Vera and his seven-year-old daughter Lia Allan of United Parañaque Subdivision IV, Parañaque City.

Charged were Supt. Jonathan Calixto; Chief Insp. Hermogenes Cabe; Senior Insp. Abraham Abayari; Insp. Erikson Roranes and Ludivico Cordova; Police Officers 1 James Yodong, Allan Apil, Efren Angcuan, Lloyd Bulayungan, Nemesio Gano and Sherwin Maybanting; and Police Officers 3 Hagar Torres, Jericho Otadoy, Guilbert Lopez, Felix Base, Eugene Papat-Ew, and Policarpio Jose Jr. All were members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF).

Also charged were Chief Inspectors Lawrence Cajipe, Joel Mendoza, Gerardo Balatucan; Police Officers 3 Jolito Mamanao Jr. and Fernando Rey Gapuz; Police Officers 2 Eduardo Blanco and Edwin Santos; and Police Officer 1 Josil Rey Lucena. All were members of the PNP-Highway Patrol Group.

No bail was recommended.

The shootout resulted in the death of 14 robbery suspects.

The DOJ gave credence to the affidavits of eyewitnesses Hilario Dauz Indiana and Ronald Castillo, who claimed that De Vera and his daughter were not killed in the crossfire as claimed by the respondents.

The DOJ pointed out that there was no exchange of fire as the policemen were in complete control of the area where the two were killed.

Castillo corroborated Indiana’s account that the policemen peppered De Vera’s Isuzu Crosswind with bullets.

When De Vera alighted from the van to carry his daughter to safety, the policemen followed him and shot him in the head.

Probers said 80 bullets were pumped into De Vera’s vehicle indicating that a number of policemen could have fired at the vehicle.

"Thus, for indiscriminately shooting the Crosswind van of the De Veras, notwithstanding the fact that there was no direct aggression foisted on them, and the without first ascertaining their identities, as a consequence of which Lia died, and for shooting an unarmed defenseless and unarmed civilian in the person of Jun de Vera, who merely tried to secure Lia to a safe place, respondents from the SAF and HPG are liable for murder, qualified by the abuse of superior strength," the DOJ said.

The justice department, however, cleared retired police director general Leopoldo Bataoil, former head of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Northern Luzon; police director general Leocadio SC Santiago Jr., chief of the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF); and P/C Supt. Perfecto Palad, head of the PNP- Highway Patrol Group (HPG), of any criminal liability.

The DOJ also cleared P/Supt. Eleuterio Gutierrez, Jr., saying that he was "practically rendered helpless as ground commander" due to the gunshot wound he sustained when his van was hit by bullets during the shootout.

The DOJ noted that when Gutierrez was seriously wounded, confusion ensued among the members of the operating team, which resulted in the death of the De Veras.

The charges against the policemen stemmed from the complaint filed by De Vera’s wife Lilian, who accused the policemen of violating the PNP’s rules of engagement that led to the death of her husband and daughter. – Evangeline de Vera

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