Case vs Atimonan cops continues – CA

MANILA, Philippines – A murder case against 13 former cops will push through after the Court of Appeals (CA) junked a petition filed by 8 of the accused.

The 13 police officials – a mix of commissioned and non-commissioned personnel – face multiple murder charges over the 2013 Atimonan rubout case, where 13 suspected crime gang members died during a summary execution in a joint police and military checkpoint.

Eight of the 13 wanted the CA to strike down the criminal information lodged against them by the justice department. This was junked by the CA’s 8th Division, saying they saw no reason why the department shouldn’t file multiply murder charges against the 13 cops.

In a 14-page decision, Associate Justice Carmelita Salandanan-Manahan said the justice department did not abuse its discretion when it found probable case against Superintendent Hansel Marantan; Supt. Ramon Balauag; Senior Inspector John Paolo Carracedo; Senior Police Officer 1 Arturo Sarmiento; Senior Inspector Timoteo Orig; Chief Inspector Grant Gollod, Senior Police Officer 3 Joselito De Guzman; Senior Police Officer 1 Carlo Cataquiz; Police Officer 3 Eduardo Oronan; PO2 Nelson Indal; PO2 Al Bhazar Jailani; PO1 Wryan Sardea; and PO1 Rodel Talento.

“A finding of grave abuse of discretion, wherein a court or tribunal acted in a capricious, whimsical, arbitrary or despotic manner cannot be sustained,” read the CA decision, which had the concurrence of Associate Justices Japar Dimaampao and Franchito Diamante

It was Gollod, Carracedo, De Guzman, Cataquiz, Oronan, Indal, Sarena, and Talento who questioned the charges against them before the CA. But the court insisted the elements of murder “appear to be present” in the case filed by the justice department.

“Here, the elements of Murder appear to be present as stated in the respondent DOJ Investigating Panel’s Omnibus Motion – the 13 men died; the killing is not parricide or infanticide; the petitioners and their co accused conspired and confederated with each other to eliminate the victims; and the killing was attended by the qualifying aggravating circumstances of evident premeditation , taking advantage of superior strength, treachery and with the aid of armed men,” read the decision.

The CA also said that the arguments presented by the 8 were “evidentiary in nature and are best threshed out in the trial of the case on the merits.”

The same 13 cops were earlier dismissed from the police service in 2014.

The court did not recommend bail for the accused, who will now face trial before a Manila Regional Trial Court upon the request of the justice department. The charges were initially filed before a local court in Gumaca, Quezon. – Rappler.com