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Abalos vows justice for Navotas teen slain by cops

Philippines | National

Abalos vows justice for Navotas teen slain by cops

By Chito Chavez

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. stated that administrative and criminal cases have already been filed against the police officers who mistook and killed 17-year old Jerhode "Jemboy" Baltazar as a suspect last Aug. 2 in Navotas City.

DILG ABALOS.jpg — DILG Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. (Photo by DILG)

In a statement on Friday, Aug. 11, Abalos also extended condolences to the family of Baltazar as he visited the wake of the teen.

“The PNP (Philippine National Police) acted swiftly in this incident. Nakakulong na ang mga pulis na sangkot at gumugulong na ang imbestigasyon (The cops are now languishing in jail and investigation is ongoing). I am a father myself and I know how much it hurts to lose a child that is why I vowed to the parents and relatives of the victim that justice will be served,’’ Abalos noted.

In the aftermath of the incident, Abalos called on the PNP leadership to revisit their operational procedures during police operations to avoid similar incidents from happening again and to determine the liability of the police officers on the basis of the chain of command.

“Magkakaroon kami ng meeting with the PNP leadership at pag-uusapan namin kung anong dapat gawin dito (We will have a meeting with the PNP leadership and we will discuss what to do here). We will revisit all of their modes of procedure and the command responsibility, to determine up to what level is the liability to avoid similar incidents,’’ Abalos asserted.

The six police officers involved in the incident have undergone inquest proceedings for homicide before the Navotas prosecutor’s office and are currently detained.

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