4 QC cops kill military agent

Four officers from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) landed in hot water after being accused of shooting to death a civilian agent of the Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) inside a police van hours after his arrest on suspicion that the agent was a robber.

The family of Pedro Domingo, 22, is set to file murder charges against the four police officers assigned to the Quezon City Police Station 8 in Anonas, Quezon City.

The ISAFP’s legal office is preparing the criminal charges to be lodged against Inspector Sarmiento and his men before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Domingo, who is a former student at the Philippine Military Academy, worked at the ISAFP’s comptroller office and has been assigned for only a week at MIG-15 to do surveillance work.

According to Mary Ong, a close friend of Domingo, the victim – together with an unidentified Philippine Army sergeant – were arrested by four members of the QC Police Station 8 on suspicion they were robbers because they were riding in tandem on board a bike.

Ong said the two were taken to the QCPD station 8 in Project 3, Quezon City for booking Friday night, even after they introduced themselves as ISAFP agents and showed the arresting officers their memorandum orders and their Commission on Elections permit exempting them from the gun ban.

Domingo and his companion also asked the arresting officers to coordinate with their ISAFP superior, Col. Kenneth Paglinawan, chief of the ISAFP MIG 15, but this was also allegedly ignored.

On Saturday morning, Ong said their captors handcuffed Domingo and forced him into a police van while Domingo’s companion was ordered to ride in tandem on a motorbike. They were supposedly being transferred to the QCPD headquarters at Camp Caringal, Sikatuna Village.

On their way to Camp Caringal, Domingo was shot by one of his police escorts, who accused him of trying to grab a gun from one of the escorts. Domingo was shot twice in the chest, with both bullets going out his back.

Ong vouched for the integrity of Domingo, saying he could not possibly grab the gun of his escorts. "He is a very good man. He joined ISAFP to earn money, finish college, and later join the PNP. But his dreams will now remain a dream after his life was ended by some scalawags in the police force."

According to Ong, Domingo was a former Sangguniang Kabataan official in Enrile, Cagayan. He applied and was accepted at the Philippine Military Academy but his stint was cut short when a professor reported that he was caught cheating in one subject.

For the past weeks, the police have been concentrating their efforts against robbers, most of whom ride on motorcycles to get through Metro Manila traffic and escape arrest.

The police have responded by deploying more motorcycle officers and intensifying patrols.