Marantan, Melad absent from DOJ prelim investigation on Atimonan shooting

Marlene Alcaide, News5

MANILA, Philippines – Police officers implicated in the murder of 13 people at a checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon were a no-show at Monday’s preliminary investigation of the case, but the soldiers who were called in to augment them at the scene attended the hearing.

Notably absent was controversial police superintendent Hansel Marantan, tagged as the suspected brains behind an operation that, per an exhaustive NBI inquiry, was a summary liquidation, not an encounter with criminals at a legitimate checkpoint.

Also absent—and represented by counsel---was Marantan’s superior officer, former Region IV-A police director Chief Supt. James Andres Melad.

In contrast, all the members of the Special Forces Battalion of the Southern Luzon Command were present as the Department of Justice opened the preliminary investigation.

They and the lawyers of the police officers came face to face with relatives of the 13 victims, who were led by businessman Vic Siman, whom Marantan’s men initially tagged as the head of a criminal syndicate that tried to evade their checkpoint and shot at them.

Members of the PNP’s Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) who first responded after the shooting were also at the DOJ.

Among the relatives of victims who faced off with the suspects was the family of Jun Lontoc, who wore shirts with the imprint "Justice for Jun Lontoc".

Marantan’s lawyer said the controversial officer was still being treated at the PNP General Hospital and could not attend the hearing.

The DOJ asked each of the complainants to swear to their complaint-affidavits.

The following police officers are facing 13 counts of murder at the DOJ: Melad, Marantan, Senior Insp. John Paolo Carracedo, Senior PO1 Arturo Sarmiento, Supt. Ramon Balauag, Senior Insp. Timoteo Orig, Chief Insp. Grant Gollod, Senior PO3 Joselito de Guzman, Senior PO1 Carlo Cataquiz, PO3 Eduardo Oronan, PO2 Nelson Indal, PO2 Al Bhazar Jailani, PO1 Wryan Sardea and PO1 Rodel Talento.

Eleven personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who augmented the police team are also facing charges, led by Lt. Col. Monico Abang. The others were Capt. Erwin Macalinao, 1st Lt. Rico Tagure, Cpl. Rogelio Tejares, Privates First Class Michael Franco, Alvin Roque Pabon, Ricky Jay Borja, Melvin Lumalang and Gil Gallego, and Privates Marc Zaldy Docdoc and Emergin Barrete.

The National Bureau of Investigation filed the multiple murder charges at the Department of Justice against the 14 policemen and 11 soldiers amid the outcry that followed the suspicious manner in which Marantan’s team killed Siman, a suspected gambling lord Vic Siman and 12 others in Atimonan, Quezon province, on Jan. 6.

The NBI concluded the rubout was a result of a rivalry over control of the illegal numbers game jueteng, between the group of Siman and a certain “Ka” Tita, whom Marantan was allegedly protecting.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/58942/marantan-melad-absent-from-doj-prelim-investigation-on-atimonan-shooting