PNP: Shootout, not rubout
5 SUSPECTED KFR MEN DEAD
URDANETA CITY –Was it a shootout or rubout?
This is the question being asked days after five men, allegedly members of a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) gang, were killed in a reported shootout in Barangay Palina West here on the night of April 19.
An autopsy conducted by Dr. Ronald Bandonil of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Baguio City showed four of the slain men sustained gunshot wounds in the back.
This result, which will be submitted shortly to the NBI district office in Dagupan City, could weaken the shootout claim of the police.
The result of the autopsy conducted on suspects Rosendo Matias, his son Roger, Marcelino Fontanilla and another unidentified man showed they might have been shot in the back based on the entries of their gunshot wounds.
The body of the fifth man, T/Sgt. Dionisio Obillo of the Philippine Army, tagged as the leader of the group, was not autopsied.
Matias, who owned the house where the supposed shootout took place, is a member of the Philippine Marines but was on an Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) status.
The autopsy conducted by Bandonil also tended to show that the four were shot from a distance of from five to six feet buttressing the theory of a rubout being claimed by relatives of some of the slain suspects.
Relatives of the slain men, allegedly belonging to the Mostrales kidnap gang, said they intend to seek the assistance of the Human Rights Commission (CHR) shortly after the burial.
Juanita Matias, wife of Rosendo, and Julieta Matias, wife of Roger, said they were inside the house and were told by the armed men to get out when they brought in the suspects.
They claimed the five were outside the house where their kidnap victim was held, and were handcuffed by police commandos, then dragged them inside the house where they were shot in cold blood.
BARBA
However, Senior Superintendent Percival Barba, police provincial director of Pangasinan who served as ground commander of the local police when the incident happened, strongly denied the accusation.
Barba further said the local police merely lent support to the Presidential Anti Crime Emergency Response (PACER) when the latter raided down the suspects’ hideout.
Barba also reacted sharply to the video footage from ABS-CBN regional television network based in Dagupan City showing the suspects’ relatives shouting invectives on the manner of the killing.
“Di natin gagawin yang rubout na sinasabi nila,” Barba said, adding that it was expected of relatives to claim a rubout.
“Ngayon pa lang sumisigaw na sila. Defensive at offensive na sila maski di pa namin sila iniimbestigahan din,” he added.
Police Regional Director Chief Superintendent Ramon Gatan was also in the area at the time to supervise the operation.
“Nakipagbarilan sila”, he said, belying claims of a rubout.
The joint police elements rescued 22-year old Julian Rodriguez who was kidnapped by the group last April 15 in Las Piñas City and brought to Palina West where his captors were demanding for a P20-million ransom from his family.
The negotiation was still ongoing when Rodriguez was rescued.
The police said Rodriguez was the second victim brought by the group in the same safehouse.
The first was Francis Uyehara of Quezon City who was kidnapped in Bulacan in January. He was also hidden by the group in the same house. PACER brought him to the place Sunday night after the shootout and identified Matias and Fontanilla as among his kidnappers.
Meanwhile, Urdaneta Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr. said in an interview with The PUNCH that relatives of the suspects have yet to come to his office seeking assistance.
“But if they say it was a rubout, based on that TV video, in the first place, what was the kidnap victim doing in that house?” Perez asked.
He added that what led to the police operations was the vigilance of the barangay officials there who reported the presence of armed strangers in that house where the kidnap victim was rescued.#
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