Key witness a no-show, DOJ ends Atimonan probe

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to wrap up its investigation on the January 6 shooting incident in Atimonan, Quezon, after the key suspect failed to appear before a panel of prosecutors. 

The investigating prosecutors were supposed to conduct a clarificatory hearing requested by the military on Monday, June 3, but key suspect Supt. Hansel Marantan failed to show up, giving the panel of prosecutors with no choice but to formally end the preliminary probe.

Senior State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva said prosecutors submitted the case for resolution after all the parties had filed their counter-affidavits. The DOJ’s decision will be released soon, he said.

Under the rules, the prosecution has at least 60 days to come up with a resolution, stating whether to dismiss the complaint or elevate it to the courts.

On January 6, 13 suspected members of a criminal gang were killed after they tried to drive past a police checkpoint near the town of Atimonan, Quezon. Twenty-one police officers and 14 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been implicated in the shooting and charged with 13 counts of murder, but Marantan and others insisted the incident was a shootout between them and a group of criminals.

Last April, the respondent soldiers filed their joint counter-affidavit, claiming that the police tampered with the evidence by firing the guns of the victims and shooting one of the victims despite their call to take the victim to the hospital.

On May 28, the DOJ investigating fiscals held ocular inspection of the site of the incident as part of preliminary investigation for the multiple murder charges filed against Marantan and other officers.

Initial debate on the incident revolved around whether it was a shootout or a rubout. President Benigno Aquino III has accepted in full the NBI’s executive report on the incident and revealed that the incident points to a rubout.

DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima said that apart from the multiple murder charges, Marantan and other officers should be charged for obstruction of justice because the firearms they surrendered were not the ones used in the operations. – Rappler.com