Family of Atimonan rubout victim slams decision
Published Jun 27, 2025 01:43 pm
LUCENA CITY, Quezon – The family of one of the victims of the so-called Atimonan rubout is deeply disappointed by the acquittal of the 12 accused, including Police Col. Hansel Marantan, after more than a decade of seeking justice.
MARANTAN (DCPO FB)
In a Facebook post, Maria Bella Lontok Evangelista, sister of victim Tirso Jun Lontok, said that their family was saddened by the decision.
She said this shows injustice in the justice system in the country. For them, human justice has become elusive after a long wait.
Because of this, they declared that they would no longer call on any government agency and instead rely only on God for justice for their loved ones.
Lontok, from Dolores, Quezon, was a well-known environmentalist protecting Mount Banahaw.
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 27 acquitted Police Col. Hansel Marantan and 11 other policemen of multiple murder charges over the controversial shooting incident on Jan. 6, 2013 in Atimonan, Quezon where 13 people were killed.
In a decision promulgated on June 23, the court ruled that police acted in fulfillment of their duty and faced actual and imminent danger during the operation that targeted alleged “jueteng” (an illegal numbers game) lord Vic Siman.
Judge Teresa Patrimonio-Soriaso said the police and military used reasonable force in the operation. She cited Marantan’s serious injuries as proof of unlawful aggression from the suspects.
Authorities said two Sports Utility Vehicles carrying Siman and his companions tried to ram a checkpoint, sparking a gunfight that lasted nearly 20 minutes.
The Philippine National Police defended the encounter as a legitimate operation against a gun-for-hire syndicate. But the National Bureau of Investigation described it as a rubout, saying the victims had no chance to fight back.
Acquitted alongside Marantan were Ramon Balauag, Grant Gollod, John Paolo Carracedo, Timoteo Orig, Joselito de Guzman, Carlo Cataquiz, Arturo Sarmiento, Eduardo Oronan, Nelson Indal, Wryan Sardea, and Rodel Talento.
Their bail were canceled and their provisional liberty was made permanent.
A police officer, Bhazar Jailani, remain at large, and his case was archived pending arrest.
In 2014, the PNP dismissed several of the accused, but Marantan and 10 of his co-accused were eventually reinstated after winning their appeals before the National Police Commission.
Marantan insisted the operation was legitimate.
“I know better than anyone else dito sa Atimonan case. Alam nila 'yan, it was a legitimate operation. Ako ang commander ng anti-private armed group. Anong gagawin ng anti-private armed group, ang trabaho ko talaga hulihin sila,” he said.