Teenager Jerhode Baltazar's body arriving home. He was shot by police in a case of mistaken identity on Aug 2. - PHOTO: VINCENT GO/FACEBOOK
MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): The Philippine National Police (PNP) vowed on Wednesday to punish officers who are found to have abused their powers, after a series of operational lapses, with the latest involving six policemen who shot and killed a teenage boy in a case of mistaken identity on Aug 2.
Six policemen in the city of Navotas, Manila, who shot 17-year-old Jerhode Baltazar after wrongly identifying him as a murder suspect have admitted their mistake but claimed they did not intend to kill him, the police said.
The police’s public information chief Redrico Maranan said all six have been disarmed and would be placed under restrictive custody at the Northern Police District headquarters in Caloocan City.
Withholding their names, he said they had undergone inquest proceedings in the Navotas prosecutor’s office on charges of “reckless imprudence resulting in homicide”.
“The PNP is sad and worried over these incidents involving our police officers. Nevertheless, the PNP leadership is continuously doing its best to correct the errors and inadequacies of our personnel on the ground,” Maranan told reporters on Wednesday.
“We do not tolerate wrongdoings of our police officers, whether these are intentional or accidental.
“Our disciplinary machinery is effective. Our records will prove that police officers who are found to have committed errors or abuses are penalised.”
He added that ground commanders may soon undergo refresher courses on standard operating procedures.
Inspector-General Alfegar Triambulo of the PNP Internal Affairs Service also ordered an investigation that may lead to administrative charges and the officers’ dismissal ahead of the criminal proceedings.
Quoting a local police report, Maranan said the six officers were on a follow-up operation after a shooting that killed a certain Cristelo Mahinay around 2.45am on Aug 2 in the North Bay Boulevard South Kaunlaran neighbourhood.
A suspect had been arrested, but another was on the run and was reported to be hiding in a boat.
‘No chance to live’
Upon arriving at the scene, the policemen saw Jerhode and a friend on a boat preparing to go fishing and fired at them. The teenager’s friend, who survived unharmed, said they tried to surrender but the officers kept shooting, prompting Jerhode to jump into the river.
According to Jerhode’s mother and sister, the bullets hit the teenager in the face, giving him “no chance to live”.
In a radio interview, Navotas police chief Allan Umipig admitted that his men made a “lapse in judgment”.
He said they should have given a verbal warning first to allow the unarmed victim and his friend to yield, instead of firing shots right away.
“We are checking if there was an imminent threat to the officers. But the way we look at it, the victim was not armed. We want to know why they fired. But one thing is for sure, we will not tolerate the lapses and the errors of our police officers,” Maranan told reporters.
Shooting should be the last resort in the case of stopping suspects who resist or will not yield, he added.
Culture of impunity
For human rights watchdog group Karapatan, Jerhode’s death showed the continuing culture of impunity under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr despite promises to bring back the rule of law in police operations.
“The killings are clearly not over,” the group said in a statement. “These killings continue because it remains part of the police’s orientations and mindset to kill, kill, kill.”
Claiming that the killing was a case of mistaken identity “was a flimsy excuse when the police should have exercised due diligence in the identification of suspects they are after. They should, in fact, exercise due diligence in every police operation,” Karapatan said.
“It is far worse to hear that they continued shooting when the victims were already in submission.” - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
