DOJ affirms ruling clearing cops in ‘Bloody Sunday’ raid

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has affirmed its March ruling dismissing the murder complaints filed against 17 policemen tagged in the killing of a fisherfolk couple during operations in Southern Tagalog in 2021 known as “Bloody Sunday.”

In a resolution dated May 29, but released only yesterday, the DOJ panel of prosecutors junked the motion for reconsideration filed by the mother of Chai Lemita-Evangelista and in-law of Ariel Evangelista.

The motion sought to reverse the findings of a DOJ panel that there was no sufficient evidence to file two counts of murder against the policemen who are members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Calabarzon,.

According to the panel, the motion showed nothing that would warrant the reversal of the findings, saying it did not sufficiently prove conspiracy.

“(It) merely relied on a baseless assumption that the PNP conducted its operations specifically to kill spouses Evangelista,” the resolution read.

The DOJ panel said the serving of the search warrants was a legitimate operation as the PNP planned the implementation of the operation, including the tasking of members.

“This supports the legitimacy of the police operations to implement the search warrants and not simply a conspiracy to kill spouses Evangelista,” it said.

The Evangelista couple, who were residents of a coastal village in Nasugbu, Batangas, were reportedly taken at around 4 a.m.

Their neighbors said they heard gunshots. The two were later declared dead.

In its March ruling, DOJ prosecutors said they found no probable cause to file murder charges against the policemen, noting that the gun used to shoot the couple did not match the firearms issued to them.