Murder charges have been filed against seven policemen for the killing of six civilians during ‘bogus’ illegal drugs buy-bust operations in Bulacan in Feb. 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
“The criminal informations against PSSG Benjie D. Enconado, PSSG Irwin Joy M. Yuson, PCPL Marlon M. Martus, PCPL Edmund V. Catubay, Jr., PCPL Harvy C. Albino, PCPL Herbert L. Hernandez, and PAT Rusco Virnar A. Madla were filed at the Regional Trial Court, Malolos City, on 25 Aug. 2021,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The seven accused, all of whom were members of the Intelligence Section/City Drug Enforcement Unit (IS/CDEU) of the San Jose Del Monte City Police Station in Bulacan, have been charged with six counts of murder and six counts of arbitrary detention in violation of the Articles 248 and 124, respectively, of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
The charges were filed after a DOJ panel of prosecutors composed of Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Rodan G. Parrocha and Wendell P. Bendoval, and Assistant State Prosecutor Arturo R. Roxas issued a joint resolution dated Nov. 7, 2020 that recommended the indictment of the seven policemen after conducting a preliminary investigation of the complaints filed against the them.
“The DOJ Panel is awaiting the court’s issuance of warrants of arrest against said police officers,” the DOJ said.
The policemen were accused of killing Chamberlain S. Domingo, Chadwin D.R. Santos, Edmar S. Aspirin, Richard C. Salgado, Erwin N. Mergal, and Jim Joshua Cordero.
The DOJ said “three (3) fabricated buy-bust operations conducted by the said police officers supposedly on 14, 15, and 18 Feb. 2020 against the victims, but in truth and in fact, no buy-bust operation was ever conducted against them.”
“The reality, based on evidence submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation-Death Investigation Division, was that the victims were unlawfully and forcibly taken on 13 Feb. 2020 at Towerville, Barangay Sto. Cristo, San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan,” it said.
The DOJ’s resolution also stated that the victims just “happened to pass by the area where a buy-bust operation took place.”
“The eye-witness account of a person who was tasked to watch over the victims while they were being unlawfully detained inside the Intel Room of the IS/CDEU, and photographs depicting the victims, all blindfolded and hand-tied, among others, supported the indictment of the abovenamed police officers,” the resolution also stated.