Sinas: “It’s not a massacre”

CEBU, Philippines —  Police Regional Office-7 director Brigadier General Debold Sinas claimed that the implementation of different search warrants in Negros Oriental on Saturday that left 14 individuals dead was not a massacre.

The 14 individuals were suspected members of Community Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). Allegedly they engaged in a shootout with the police during the Synchronized Enhanced Managing Police Operations (SEMPO) of PRO 7.

Eight people were killed in Canlaon City, four in Manjuyod and two in Catalina in Negros Oriental.

Sinas insisted that there was no massacre, contrary to the claims of rights groups. He said the 14 individuals were killed in different places, not just one sitio or barangay.

“It’s not a massacre. If you want to know, define massacre, you’ll see the difference. We could show you the search warrants,” he said.

In line with this, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)-7 will be conducting their investigation in Negros Oriental, if there are human rights violations during the operation.

Sinas welcomes the investigation of the CHR.  

“We’re expecting it. We’re open to investigation,” he said, adding he also directed their Regional Internal Affairs Service (RIAS) to conduct their own investigation.

Sinas said his men who conducted claimed that they followed police operational procedures.

 In the operation, one of his men was wounded and is currently confined at the Siliman Medical Center.

 Sinas said if Police Corporal Ian Puerto, who was part of the augmentation force from the Regional Mobile Force Batallion-7 in Canlaon City Police Station, might have to undergo surgery.

 Sinas said that during the operation, they were able to recover short firearms, lists of sketches of police camps, names of police officers, and time they will be patrolling.

 The lists of sketches and names of police officers were recovered around 100 meters away from the police station. 

Rights groups Karapatan, farmers’ groups UMA and National Federation of Sugar Farmers condemned the killing of the 14, whom they said were just farmers and habal-habal drivers.

But Police General Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, in a press briefing on Monday stressed that the authorities were armed with 36 search warrants when they conducted the operation on Saturday.

 “Thirty-six search warrants in different parts of Negros Oriental. It is not true that this is a massacre. This happened in different places,” he added in Filipino.

The police chief also pointed out that there were 12 others who were arrested, and not killed, during the operations.

 “Itong mga 14 na ito, ito yung mga sinasabi nilang nanlaban (These 14 who were killed, these were those who fought back),” he said.

“I don’t think police will fire if these people did not fight back,” he said, stressing that if the intention was to kill, the 12 who were arrested would also have died.

Albayalde added that based on police intelligence reports, those who were killed “have previous participation in an alleged ambush” on police and an Army sergeant.

But Antonio “Ka Tonying” Flores, UMA chairperson, said the deaths were similar to what happened in Guihulngan and nearby places late last year when six farmers were killed “tokhang style” because they allegedly shot at police and military personnel.

“Tokhang” originally referred to a police operation to “knock” on alleged drug personalities’ doors and “plead” with them to submit to the government’s anti-drug campaign. It has since been used to refer to killings related to the so-called war on drugs.

The government has repeatedly said that the more than 5,000 “drug personalities” killed in operations forced law enforcement to kill them in self-defense.

Internal probe ongoing

The country’s top cop also said that the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service is already looking into the incidents.

“While we assume regularity on all police operations, especially in this case that there were warrants to be served, IAS will always be there and conduct investigation,” the police chief said.

Albayalde said that they are expecting the IAS’ report on the incidents very soon.

He said that the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines stand ready if complaints would be filed against them.

 “We are ready to face investigation, the PNP, the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), including those involved in the investigation... to prove that it was a legitimate operation,” he added.

The Commission on Human Rights has already dispatched a team from its regional sub-office in Central Visayas to look into the deaths of the 14. —  Philstar.com (FREEMAN)