7 SAF troopers in NPA rebs slay now in custody

‘The seven policemen involved are now in the custody of IMEG. Three of them surrendered, and four were arrested under warrants of arrest’

The seven Special Action Force police officers, with a standing arrest warrant for two counts of murder for killing two alleged New People’s Army rebels in 2010, are now in the custody of the Philippine National Police Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group.

In a press conference on Thursday, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said four of the concerned cops were arrested while three others have surrendered to the police organization.

“The seven policemen involved are now in the custody of IMEG. Three of them surrendered, and four were arrested under warrants of arrest,” Fajardo said.

The PNP-IMEG earlier identified three of the policemen who hold the rank of captain while the rest are non-commissioned officers.

They were Police Captain Justin Dumaguing Anogue (active); Police Captain Orlando Rosales Jr. (active); Police Captain Guilbert S. Asuncion (active); Police Chief Master Sergeant Joseph Chumawar Jr. (active); Police Chief Master Sergeant Israel Culangan Lucob (active); Police Master Sergeant Dante Baloran (active); and Police Staff Sergeant Quill Carame Bay-an, who reportedly went absent without leave.

The SAF troopers have surrendered to the PNP-IMEG on separate dates and locations from 8 to 13 February.

The police officers’ warrants of arrest came following an armed encounter between the personnel of PNP-SAF’s Rapid Deployment Batallion against the alleged NPA members in Sitio Lagyo, Barangay Puray in Rodriguez, Rizal province in 2010.

The gun battle resulted in the deaths of two alleged NPA members.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KING RODRIGUEZ FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE FOR 35 years as a street dweller, Noime Manares, 35, has mastered the life of being homeless. Here, she is seen cooking rice beside the Philippine National Railways train rail in Pandacan on Thursday. She said she slept anywhere as long as she could rest, but she always returned to her preferred location to cook.