The horrible truth, according to the CHR

From The Manila Times -- Editorial Opinion


"The horrible truth, according to the CHR"

AS many had feared, the death of the three men suspected of being carjackers at the Ortigas Center, Pasig City, in the hands of Traffic Management Group agents on November 7, 2005, was not legitimate but an act of murder.

In a disturbing but courageous report released Monday, the Commission on Human Rights said the 10 TMG officers summarily executed the victims inside a rented car near Garner Street and the AIC Gold Tower Bldg.

The CHR investigated the shooting immediately after the story broke in the papers. In a 35-page report, the commission said it found probable cause to charge the officers with multiple murder since the police operation was “feigned, premeditated and treacherous.”

The TMG said its men—members of Task Force Limbas—were waiting at the site, acting on a tip that a group of carjackers was going to pass through. The victims’ car matched that of the suspect vehicle. When the car appeared on the scene, it allegedly refused to stop on signal. A gunbattle followed.

It did not happen that way, according to the CHR.

“It is evident that when the victims were flagged down…the victims merely stopped the car, but were suddenly met with gunfire from the state agents herein who acted with criminal intent,” the report said.

A government forensic expert advising the commission said her findings showed that the victims did not fire at the officers. Hence, there could not have been any shootout. “There is no evidence to show that any of the three occupants had fired his gun,” the forensic expert Raquel Fortun said.

TV footage taken at the scene by an independent cameraman showed the officers approaching the car and firing at the victims simultaneously. There appeared to be no aggressive action or motion on the part of the occupants.

After the shooting, the officers made no attempt to take the mortally wounded suspects to the nearest hospital, the report noted.

Commission Chairman Purificacion Quisumbing, apparently reminded by the involvement of the police in inexcusable killings, said that they should not use excessive force in carrying out their duties. In its annual reports, the CHR has consistently cited the police as the leading violator of human rights.

The media reported the Ortigas killing as another “botched” police operation, the tendency of the law to commit mistakes, to ignore operational procedures or abbreviate the rules of engagement. The case further blackens the image of the Philippine National Police and the standards of our law enforcement here and abroad. It certainly stains the national image.

The TMG officers will have a chance to defend themselves before the Office of the Ombudsman, the National Police Commission or a court of law. At the CHR hearings, they were given all the opportunity to explain their side. But they refused to appear before the commission and relied on their lawyer to attend in their behalf. That kind of defense does not bring out the truth.