Six police officers from Pangasinan are facing murder charge before the Office of the Ombudsman for the death of a 17-year-old Dota player accused of being a member of an “akyat bahay” gang in 2018.
Christine Pascual, mother of the victim Joshua Laxamana, along with Maria Kristina Conti of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, also filed charges of obstruction of justice and planting of evidence against Chief Insp. John Corpuz, officer in charge of Pangasinan’s Rosales police; PO2s Arvin Abella, Roy Sarmiento and Ronald Casareno; SPO3 Oliver Vingua, and SPO1 Hilario Taquiqui Jr.
Accoring to Conti, even the police spot report had tagged Abella and Sarmiento as the perpetrators behind the killing of Laxamana, while Corpuz, Abella and Sarmiento were liable for planting of evidence.
Dr. Adan Arlie Guieb of the Rosales Infirmary Unit who autopsied the body of Laxamana was charged with obstruction of justice.
The complainant submitted an autopsy report by forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun stating that the victim sustained a gunshot wound on the wrist, an indication that he tried to defend himself.
On Aug. 14, 2018, Pascual left her son at home in Tarlac City, Tarlac for work.
Laxamana went missing after he went with his two friends to Baguio City for a Dota gaming tournament.
On Aug. 17 that year, one of Laxamana’s friends arrived home, saying he and Laxamana and their other friend parted ways at the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) on Aug. 16.
After days of searching, Pascual, who was then 34, the mother found her son at a funeral parlor in Rosales, Pangasinan on Aug. 21 with his body riddled with bullets.
According to Pascual, the police told her that the boy fought against policemen at a barangay checkpoint while on a motor bike.
Police claimed the victim yielded illegal drugs and a .45-caliber pistol, and that he was a notorious “akyat bahay” gang member in Pangasinan.
The complainant maintained her son’s innocence, saying he was just a simple student whose daily activities revolved around home, school and the computer shop.
