12/06/2008 3:32 PM
A father and his seven-year old daughter who were on the family vehicle were reportedly mistakenly shot dead by policemen as suspected armed robbers battled the police inside a subdivision in Parañaque City Friday night.
Alfonso de Vera and daughter Lea Alyanna were on board their Isuzu Crosswind when they were intercepted by policemen inside the United Parañaque Subdivision IV in Sucat district.
Fourteen other people, including 10 suspects, a police commando and civilians, also died in the clash.
A witness said that police Special Action Force (SAF) members trained their guns and opened fire on de Vera even after he alighted from the vehicle.
"Nakita ko, nakita ko niratrat nalang 'yung sasakyan ng mga operatives ng SAF kahit lumabas na si Alfonso ng sasakyan, pinagbabarilo pa rin. Di tinigilan hangang mamatay s'ya ng nakaluhod," said the witness.
On Saturday, police released the names of the other fatalities, including the slain SAF member.
The policeman was identified as Police Officer 1 Nixon Binasoy.
The civilians killed, meanwhile, were de Vera, his daughter, security guard Arnel Malacawan, Bernard Tungcab and a female victim who remains unidentified as of posting time.
Tungcab was rushed to the Olivarez General Hospital but expired along the way.
Cops hurt too
Meanwhile, a ranking police officer and two SAF members were also wounded in the gunbattle. They were Senior Superintendent Eleuterio Gutierrez and SAF members Chief Inspector Hermogenes Cabe and Inspector Eric Roranes.
Gutierrez is in critical condition at the Parañaque Medical Center.
The slain suspects were named as Avelino Abayon, Rey Olarte, Ricarte Chaves, Baltazar Decurian Jr., Camilo Pastrana, Dennis Bassig, Danilo Tranca, Rommel Campos and Jesiry Vicemayor. The remaining fatality was unidentified.
Three gangmen survived and were able to escape. A manhunt is underway after they fled on board a commandeered Toyota Vios car.
Police said four suspected members of the robbery groups are now in their custody.
The Commission on Human Rights and the National Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, said they will investigate the shootout to determine if the policemen were at fault.
Director Leopoldo Bataoil, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, meanwhile, appealed for calm following the deaths of the civilians. He vowed to dig deeper into the incident and said charges will be filed against policemen if proven that they fire indiscriminately.
"Minsan talagang may nadadamay na sibilyan hindi maiwasan, mag-apa-imbestiga ako. If ever ma-prove na may kasalanan 'yung SAF, mananagot sila. Pero intindihin sana nila 'yung trabahio ng mga pulis. It's a difficult situation," Bataoil told ABS-CBN News around midnight.
Police said the slain suspects are members of the "Waray-Waray" and "Ozamis" robbery gangs that are allegedly responsible for the series of bank robberies in Metro Manila, including the noontime heist inside the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
Officials said that prior to the shootout, they received information that the suspects were going to raid a rental car company inside the subdivision.
as of 12/06/2008 3:32 PM
source:
Father, daughter among 16 dead in Parañaque shootout | ABS-CBN News Online Beta
Father, daughter among 16 dead in Parañaque shootout
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