The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been asked to overturn a resolution that dismissed the murder complaint filed against 17 policemen for the death of labor leader Emmanuel “Manny” Asuncion during the so-called “Bloody Sunday” killings in Southern Tagalog on March 7, 2021.
In a motion for reconsideration filed on Thursday before the DOJ’s panel of prosecutors, Asuncion’s wife, Liezel, through the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), pleaded for the reconsideration of the dismissal of the murder case, arguing that all elements for the crime of murder are present.”
“A careful perusal of the Affidavit-Complaint as well as the documents filed by the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) would show that all the elements for the crime of murder are present, such that the filing of charge for murder, not its dismissal, should have been this Honorable Office’s recommendation,” the complainant said in her appeal.
In a resolution released last Jan. 16, the DOJ panel ordered the dismissal of the murder complaint filed against PLt. Elbert M. Santos. PLt. Shay Jed Sapitula, PSMS Hector R. Cardinales, PMSgt. Ariel P. Dela Cruz, PSSg. Joemark Sajul, PCpl. Ernie A. Ambuyoc, PCCpl. Mark John A. Defiesta, PCpl. Arjay Garcia, PCpl. Caidar Dimacangun, PCpl.
Bryan Sanchez, PCpl, Ericson Lucido, Pat. Jayson Maala, Pat. Juanito Plite, Pat. Jonathan Tatel, Pat. Prince Benjamin Torres, Pat. Jaime Turingan, and Pat. Rey PJ Dacara Lopera.
“We lament the demise of Emmanuel Asuncion. However, complainant and the evidence she submitted failed to discharge the obligation to prove the existence of a crime and identity of the perpetrators thereof,” the panel’s resolution stated.
Manny Asuncion, a coordinator of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in Cavite, was among those who died on March 7, 2021. He was reportedly shot by law enforcement officers during the serving of search warrants in Southern Tagalog provinces against suspected members of communist terrorist groups.
The NUPL said there were eight other activists who died on March 7, 2021. It identified them as Chai Lemita Evangelista and her husband Ariel Evangelista, Mark Lee Coros Bacasno and Michael Dasigao, brothers Abner Esto and Edward Esto, and brothers Puroy Dela Cruz and Randy Dela Cruz.
Based on Liezel’s complaint, Manny was killed at the Worker’s Assistance Center Satellite Office located in Salitran 1, Dasmarinas City allegedly by uniformed policemen of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in Rizal and Laguna.
Liezel said in her complaint that they were sleeping on the second floor when six policemen wearing ski masks barged into the room.
While she was being taken to the ground floor, Liezel said “she saw her husband lying with his stomach on the stairs while one of the operatives pointed a gun at his back.”
Thereafter, Liezel said she heard a gunshot that came from the second floor.
She said that after hearing the gunshot, she said she asked the operatives if she could check on her husband but she said she was not allowed.
After about 30 minutes, Liezel said the operatives allegedly pulled out the lifeless body of her husband, soaked in his blood. The operatives then left with the lifeless body of her husband inside their patrol vehicle, she also alleged.
“The Autopsy Report of Dr. Raquel B. Del Rosario-Fortun dated June 17, 2021 states that no gunpowder nitrates and residue was found in the hands of Manny, contradicting the police’s claim that Manny fired shots at them and, thus, compelled them to fire back in self-defense. Notably, the Autopsy Report described the state of the Manny’s remains in great detail, as it indicates even the presence of dirt and clear nail polish underneath and on top of his fingernails,” the NUPL lawyers stressed in the motion for reconsideration.
“The Autopsy Report also indicates that the trajectory of the gunshot wounds sustained by Manny in his trunk were backwards and upwards. This corroborates the allegation of Complainant that she last saw her husband alive lying prone while the police operatives were pointing their firearms at his back,” it added.
NUPL also said that “Manny, who was obese and had difficulty getting up, was completely subdued by the Respondents when he was forced to lie on his stomach by the staircase and firearms were pointed at him.”
It said there was also premeditation in the killing of Manny “because the police reports show that this incident was part of the implementation of COPLAN ASVAL, with Manny deemed as a target ‘Communist-Terrorist Group (CTG) member.’”
It pointed out that “the manner by which the whole operation was executed and reported reveals the community of criminal design not only to kill Manny but also to afford impunity to the actual shooters by preventing their identification.”
“The number of armed police personnel deployed was ‘an overkill; that there were around six persons who wore ski masks and bonnets; and Manny was forcefully separated from Complainant so that no one, but the police, could see him being killed; respondents refused to name the operatives who actually entered the premises and shot Manny dead; and that police records only listed the respondents as the only persons who participated in the operation,” the motion said.
“Evident premeditation is evident from the fact that the extrajudicial killing of Manny is not isolated but well-coordinated, done simultaneously in different locations and with different targets, using almost the same mode of action of surprising the victim and immediately shooting within minutes of entering the premises and killing the victims of the ‘Bloody Sunday’carnage, with the number of police personnel greater than what the circumstances of the killing actually demands,” NUPL added.