Court orders arrest of 13 cops in Atimonan rubout

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon Regional Trial Court Judge Maria Chona Pulgar-Navar yesterday issued warrants for the arrest of 13 policemen charged with multiple murder in connection with the rubout case in Atimonan last January.

Superintendent Hansel Marantan and other police officers were accused of killing 13 people, including alleged jueteng lord Vic Siman, over a suspected turf war on illegal gambling operations.

The court ordered no bail for Marantan, Superintendent Ramon Balauag, Chief Inspector Grant Gollod, Senior Inspectors John Paolo Carracedo and Timoteo Orig, Senior Police Officer 3 Joselito de Guzman, Senior Police Officers 1 Arturo Sarmiento and Carlo Cataquiz, Police Officer 3 Eduardo Oronan, Police Officers 2 Nelson Indal and Bhazar Jailani, and Police Officers 1 Wryan Sardea and Rodel Talento.

Baluag, Indal, and Jailani have gone absent without official leave (AWOL).

The charges against the policemen were filed after a panel of prosecutors of the Department of Justice (DOJ) affirmed the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The panel found evidence that the police team led by Marantan liquidated the victims, in what Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier branded as a rubout.

Evidence submitted by the NBI showed that the victims were shot at close range.

“Forensic and chemical evidence results showed that it was impossible for the victims to have fired the gun from inside their vehicle as no burns, smudges, and soot were found in it. Gunshots came from the outside,” the panel said.

The respondents in the case earlier denied this.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) would serve the warrant of arrest against the 13 policemen charged in the Atimonan rubout case.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor said the PNP has already ordered the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to secure a copy of the warrant from the DOJ and arrest Marantan and the other accused police officers.

Marantan is currently under restrictive custody of the PNP at Camp Crame, Quezon City.

“The PNP welcomes the filing of charges against the police personnel involved in the Atimonan incident by the DOJ. We are one with the DOJ in seeking the truth and justice on the matter,” Mayor said.

Mayor said manhunt operations were launched against the three policemen who went AWOL. 

The PNP will not provide any legal assistance to Marantan’s group since the criminal case was not considered service-related, aside from the fact that administrative charges were also filed against them, according to Mayor.   

On top of this, Marantan and his co-accused have already tapped their own private counsels to defend them in court.

Mayor said the administrative charges filed against Chief Superintendent James Melad, Marantan’s immediate superior as former Calabarzon regional police director, would push through.

The DOJ has cleared Melad of any criminal liability in the Atimonan incident.

Mayor said the DOJ ruling has no bearing on the administrative case against Melad.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), however, is mum over the DOJ’s filing of separate charges of obstruction of justice against Army Lt. Rico Tagure.

A contingent of the Army’s Special Forces headed by Lt. Col. Monico Abang backed Marantan’s group in the Atimonan operations. With Jaime Laude