GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – The families of three young men killed in what the police said was a shootout in Sultan Kudarat province in late 2022, filed murder complaints against a former town police chief and seven of his subordinates on Monday, March 13.

Lawyer Ronald Torres, who represents the families, said they filed complaints for multiple murders, planting of evidence, falsification of documents, and grave misconduct against the group of policemen with the National Prosecution Service of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The respondents were identified as the following:

• Former Lambayog town police chief Major Jehnameel Toñacao
• Senior Master Sergeant Syril Mahaddi
• Corporal Elpedio Garlit
• Corporal Joffrey Apalla
• Patrolman Nicol Dion Toreja
• Patrolman Basser Mako
• Patrolman Mario Rombaoa Jr.
• Patrolman Roldan Claveria

Toñacao and the other accused policemen had been suspended earlier to allow an impartial investigation. 

Torres said the charges were recommended by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which looked into the pieces of evidence and circumstances surrounding the shooting deaths of Samanoden Mustapha Ali and Horton Ansa Jr., both 19; and 20-year-old Anshad Ansa on December 2, 2022.

Based on the initial report submitted by the accused cops, the young men, who were riding a motorcycle, were flagged down for inspection at a checkpoint in Purok 4, Barangay Didtaras, Lambayong. 

They said the young men sped off, prompting a chase by the police. When the motorcycle crashed, the riders immediately engaged the police in a firefight, according to the town police.

The three young men were riddled with bullets, and their bodies showed signs of abuse.

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Their relatives asserted that the young men were unarmed, and were only trying out the newly bought motorcycle at the time of the killing.

The Lambayog police had also claimed to have found guns, grenades, bullets, and a sachet containing suspected shabu (meth) from the remains of the three, allegations the families also rejected.

Patrolman Horton Ansa Sr., the father and namesake of one of the killed teenagers, said the allegations were “lies and fabrications,” saying his son and the other young men were not known for gun and drug use in their community.

A subsequent NBI investigation showed that Ali and the two Ansas appeared to have been manhandled and tortured before they were killed. 

The results of a post-mortem examination of their exhumed remains also showed that they were shot at close range. 

Torres said photographs of the bodies alone showed signs of physical abuse.

Patrolman Ansa said he was confident of their evidence against Toñacao and his seven subordinates.

“All he (Horton Jr.) wanted was to become a policeman like me and his grandfather,” he said of his son who was a first-year criminology student. – Rappler.com