The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Thursday assured that there will be no cover-up in the investigation into the killing of a teenager in a police operation in Navotas City, noting that the involved policemen have already admitted their mistake.
In an interview, NCRPO director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. assured that there is no other motive in the death of 17-year-old Jerhode Jemboy Baltazar and that the fatal shooting was purely a mistake on the part of the police.
The six policemen are already behind bars and are already facing criminal charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, Nartatez said.
To avoid similar incidents, Nartatez said the NCRPO will strengthen programs to continue educating their personnel, especially on the rules of engagement and patrolling.
The Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will expedite the fact-finding investigation of the case. IAS Inspector General Alfegar Triambulo said they expect to release their recommendation in the first week of September. He said the involved policemen will be asked to submit their counter-affidavit.
PNP Public Information Office chief Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said a police executive master sergeant, three staff sergeants, two corporals, and one patrolman involved in the incident are now facing administrative and criminal charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.
Maranan said the police officers conducted a pursuit operation on Aug. 2 in response to a murder incident when they chanced upon Baltazar who was then on board a boat. The police said they commanded Baltazar and his companion to surrender. However, he allegedly jumped into the river prompting law enforcers to fire at him which resulted in his death.
The police officers later admitted that Baltazar was not the suspect they were looking for but a certain Reynaldo Bolivar.
Navotas City Mayor Joh Rey Tiangco extended his condolences to the family of the victim, saying that “We are deeply saddened by the wrongful death of a 17-year-old Navoteño who was shot by members of the Navotas police due to mistaken identity.”
The mother Baltazar is set to return home after seeking the assistance of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Rodaliza T. Baltazar is now with the DMW’s Migrant Workers Office in Doha, Qatar and waiting for her flight to the Philippines, according to DMW Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Bernard Olalia.
Senator Risa Hontiveros meanwhile condemned the killing. “I condemn Jemboy’s heinous killing in the strongest terms. While the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) immediate investigation and detention of the police officers involved in the killing of Jemboy is commendable, it is both alarming and suspicious as to why the officers were charged only with the lesser crime of ‘reckless imprudence resulting in homicide’ instead of the proper charge of “homicide.” With Vito Barcelo and Joel Zurbano