27 Navotas cops face relief in teen’s killing

MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-seven police officers from the Navotas police substation 4 will be removed from their posts in connection with a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy dead in a case of mistaken identity, the Northern Police District (NPD) said yesterday.

NPD director Brig. Gen. Rizalito Gapas said the reason for the relief is to assure the public that the police force is dedicated to their protection and wellbeing following the killing of Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar last Aug. 2.

All NPD personnel will undergo a comprehensive retraining and refresher course in batches “to rebuild bridges, restore community confidence and reinforce the message that there is nothing to fear from the police,” the NPD said in a statement.

Navotas police chief Col. Allan Umipig told The STAR that the six police officers involved in the operation that resulted in the teenager’s death were presented to the Baltazar family “to prove they are detained.”

Umipig said the six police officers are set to be transferred to the NPD detention facility, but gave no other details.

‘PNP still disciplined’

There is no breakdown in discipline within the ranks of the Philippine National Police despite several controversies hounding some police officers, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said yesterday.

Baltazar’s death and other irregularities do not reflect the overall performance of the 228,000-strong police force, Acorda said, insisting that the chain of command within the PNP is intact and proof of this is the downtrend in crime incidents in the country.

“There is no breakdown in discipline. It just happened at the same time,” Acorda said in Filipino.

The PNP has been hounded by recent controversies this month: a policeman in Taguig shooting a colleague; nine anti-narcotics officers in Imus, Cavite allegedly looting the house of a retired teacher during an operation and five Manila policemen reportedly robbing an illegal gambling den masquerading as a computer shop in Sampaloc.

Acorda assured the public the PNP is undertaking a comprehensive review of training protocols and procedures to enhance law enforcement operations’ effectiveness while minimizing the risk of errors or misconduct.

Also yesterday, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo confirmed that S/Sgt. Gerry Maliban, one of the six police officers implicated in Baltazar’s killing, was indeed ordered dismissed by the National Police Commission in 2020 due to a grave offense.

Maliban has filed an appeal on his dismissal from the service.

CHR sets probe

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said yesterday it has launched its own investigation of Baltazar’s death since “lapses leading to the curtailment of a person’s life is a grave and irreversible violation of a human right.”

While the CHR acknowledged the PNP’s prompt launch of an investigation and the filing of criminal and investigative complaints against the six police officers, it urged the PNP to remind its officers on the “appropriate use of force” as discussed in the police manual of operations.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros warned that the complaint against the six policemen is for the lesser charge of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, not the “proper charge of homicide,” could result in a “whitewashing” of the incident.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, in a social media post, said that “deliberately killing people in cold blood… is plain murder, not just homicide.” — Elizabeth Marcelo, Marc Jayson Cayabyab Emmanuel Tupas