De Lima: No shootout in Quezon

By Dharel Placido, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 01/17/2013 12:40 PM | Updated as of 01/17/2013 1:28 PM




Witnesses: Slain men surprised by checkpoint

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Thursday she is certain that no shootout occurred between law enforcers and suspected criminal elements at a checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon last January 6.

De Lima said three witnesses, whose identities are being withheld, have come forward to shed light on the shooting.

"Well, ang masasabi namin, credible ang aming witnesses and they are really eye witnesses. Wala kaming rason na pagdudahan ang kredibilidad ng mga witnesses na iyon," she said in a radio dzMM interview.

"Kanina sa incident site, kitang-kita namin na alam nila ang pinag-sasabi nila. Noong una, ayaw pa nilang magsalita kasi natatakot sila. So we assured them of their safety and the safety of their families," she added.

Asked whether she still believes the claim of the checkpoint police of a shootout, de Lima said: "Definitely, no shootout."

Witnesses detail incident

Accompanied by the witnesses, investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) visited Barangay Lumutan in Atimonan town to re-enact the shooting incident that left 13 alleged members of the Vic Siman gun-for-hire group dead.

Only two of the three witnesses, who are now under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), were present during the re-enactment.

De Lima said the witnesses were on board a truck near the checkpoint when the gun fight erupted.

According to the witnesses, the policemen and soldiers suddenly pulled out the checkpoint signboards and blocked Maharlika Highway with a military truck, to the surprise of the 13 men on board two Mitsubishi Montero sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

One of the checkpoint policemen, wearing civilian clothes, then ordered the men to alight the SUVs. However, the men refused to alight the vehicles, prompting one of the policemen to order his fellow law enforcers to strafe the SUVs.

The witnesses said the law enforcers started strafing the vehicles. One of the men seated at the passenger side of the first SUV opened fire, prompting police and soldiers to strafe the SUVs even more.

They said one of the men, allegedly Tirso Lontok, then emerged from the SUV with his arms already raised, showing that he was ready to surrender.

However, two law enforcers – one in uniform and the other in civilian clothes – still shot Lontok at close range.

One of the witnesses also confirmed earlier reports that a third vehicle accompanied the men from the two SUVs. The witness said the third vehicle was able to flee before the shooting started.

Jueteng

The legitimacy of the police operation has come under question amid allegations that the shooting incident was actually a rubout.

Before today's re-enactment, the Philippine National Police's fact-finding committee already made its own reenactment on the alleged shootout.

The Calabarzon PNP was also expected to turn over today to the NBI all the pieces of evidence they gathered from the clash site.

One of the 13 slain men in the encounter was Siman, an alleged jueteng operator engaged in a turf rivalry with one of the checkpoint policemen, Supt. Hansel Marantan.

The alleged involvement of Marantan and Siman in jueteng operations triggered speculations that the supposed gun battle was not a simple shootout. – with reports from Niko Baua, ABS-CBN News; Alex Calda and Johnny Glorioso, dzMM

Source: ABSCBN