MANILA – The seven police officers who were charged with the killing of Calbayog City, Samar Mayor Ronaldo Aquino have been placed under restrictive custody.
“I also directed the Regional Director, Police Regional Office 8 and Director, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) to place implicated PNP (Philippine National Police) personnel under their restrictive custody,” PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in a statement on Friday.
He said this is to ensure the availability of seven police personnel for any further investigation on the incident.
“Parusahan kung sino ang dapat parusahan (Punish who should be punished) but in the meantime, let these cases take their course in the proper forum,” he added.
On Thursday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed murder and frustrated murder complaints before the Department of Justice against police officers involved in the March 8 shootout that killed Aquino and five others.
The NBI based its conclusion on 53 statements of witnesses, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the incident, and information from the cellphones they had obtained.
In a Senate inquiry on Aquino’s death on Wednesday, a whistleblower, Master Sgt. Jose Jay Scenario, claimed that a political rival of the slain mayor allegedly colluded with some PNP personnel to obtain a search warrant against him and tag him as the protector of a policeman involved in the illegal drug trade.
He added that the ambush on the mayor had long been planned.
Source: Philippines News Agency
