The Court of Appeals has sustained its decision finding former police provincial director of Abra Alexander Rafael and another policeman guilty of grave misconduct, in connection with their involvement in the summary execution of five suspected guns-for-hire in May 2012.
In a three-page resolution, the CA’s Special Former Twelfth Division through Associate Justice Ramon Cruz denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Rafael and Senior Police Officer 3 Marino Manuel seeking the reversal of its Jan. 5, 2018 decision, which affirmed the resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman ordering their dismissal from the service after finding them criminally and administratively liable for murder and grave misconduct, respectively.
The appellate court rejected the argument of Rafael and Manuel that the incident was a shootout and that they merely acted in self-defense.
“After careful consideration of the motion, we find that the arguments raised therein are not novel and a mere rehash of the issues and arguments presented in their previous pleadings, which we have adequately passed upon in our decision dated Jan. 5, 2018,” the CA ruled.
The CA stressed that although Michael Bermudez had previous criminal records and the members of his group were carrying guns at the time they were killed, “it will not negate the fact that a rub-out took place.”
The appellate court noted that the other victims Nomer Biendima, Leonardo Apolinario, Jr., Isabelo George Bernal II, and Daniel Villamor had never been charged or convicted of any crime prior to the incident.
Rafael earlier claimed that the killing was the result of a legitimate shootout with Bermudez group along the Maharlika Highway in Barangay San Lorenzo, Lallo town.
Rafael claimed then that the slain suspects aboard a Toyota Corona had tailed them while they were on their way to his hometown in Cagayan from Ilocos Sur.
According to him, his group was only forced to fire back at the suspects after they refused to stop when they were flagged down.
“Moreover, the autopsy reports of the bodies of Michael Bermudez, Nomer Biendima, Isabelo George Bernal II, Leonardo Apolinario, Jr., and Daniel Villamor revealed tattooing and shrapnel injuries suggesting that they were shot at close range—another fact consistent with the theory of rub-out instead of shootout,” the CA said.