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By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Wednesday
the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) may have violated the rights of the law enforcers when it
prematurely concluded as a rubout the recent police encounter in
Batangas that resulted in the death of the three suspects in the
RCBC robbery-massacre in Laguna.
At the same time, Gonzalez clarified that he had
never issued a shoot-to-kill order against the suspects in the RCBC
robbery.
“She [de Lima] has taken the meaning of my
comment in the wrong context,” Gonzalez said.
Earlier, de Lima blamed Gonzalez for the death
of the three suspects, referring to the latter’s previous remarks
that there should be a “shoot-to-kill” order against them.
Gonzalez said de Lima should refrain from coming
out with premature conclusions without sufficient proof or evidence.
“That’s how I see it. She is the judge, the
jury and the prosecutor,” Gonzalez told reporters.
He said making such initial findings publicly
may hamper law enforcement operations, saying it is like having a
boxer fight with one hand tied behind his back.
“How come these people are always crying out
loud whenever a criminal or crime suspect is killed during a
legitimate encounter? It seems they are more sympathetic to the
suspects rather than their victims,” Gonzalez pointed out.
Gonzalez said that modern forensic technology
could determine if what happened was a real encounter or a rubout.
“We can always subject them to paraffin and
ballistics tests to determine if the encounter was legitimate or
not,” he added.
Gonzalez added that he is not against penalizing
and punishing erring policemen provided that there is sufficient
evidence against them.
Nonetheless, the Palace seems to be behind de
Lima.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita defended de
Lima for issuing statements against Gonzales, saying that de Lima
may be expressing a “heat of passion” because the RCBC killings
are so brutal.
“We will leave it to the CHR to pursue its
investigation and if indeed it is a rubout [then] let the policemen
involved suffer for their actions. That is a human rights matter,”
Ermita said.
Ermita also said he hopes the Philippine
National Police leadership will be more transparent in its separate
investigation on the matter.
De Lima on Wednesday said the widow of one of
the slain suspects, Vivencio Javier, has allowed the commission to
conduct an autopsy on his remains. Javier is a former barangay
chairman.
De Lima said that the autopsy is set to be
conducted today by the commission’s doctors and forensic expert
Dr. Rachel Fortun.
“Fortunately we were able to get the consent
of the widow. It will be a joint autopsy to be conducted by our own
doctor and Dr. Fortun,” de Lima said.
De Lima said that the families of the three
other slain suspects have already buried the remains of their loved
ones.
-- With Angelo S. Samonte, Ira Karen Apanay and Anthony Vargas
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