Cops wipe out entire family in Tubod town
5-month-old boy and his pregnant mother among those killed
A FAMILY of three, including a 5-month-old baby and his 3-month-old pregnant mother, all perished in a police operation in Tubod, Lanao del Norte on Monday dawn, Sept. 11.
This, after the family head identified as Bevino Laride allegedly fought back when policemen arrived at their house in brgy. Taguranao at around 4 a.m. to serve a warrant for attempted murder case.
Killed on the spot were the suspect Laride, his pregnant live-in partner Virginia Delibo and their child, Rexjun.
Laride's brother Jonel, his coaccused for the same crime, was not around when joint operatives of Tubod, Lanao del Norte police and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) reportedly engaged in a firefight with Bevino that resulted to the obliteration of the entire family and the wounding of Police Officer 1 (PO1) Yasser Macatbar.
Superintendent Lemuel Gonda, spokespersons of the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao (PRO-10), however, clarified that the incident was not a `massacre' in contrast to what has fast become viral online in social media `but purely a lawful and legitimate police operation.'
Police accounts said the other suspect had been frequently sighted
staying overnight at the house of Bevino. But during the operation, Jonel was not around.
Authorities said Bevino fired first at the approaching SWAT team using his M2 carbine rifle that wounded Macatbar, forcing them to return fire.
The wounded cop, Macatbar sustained a lone gunshot wound on his left thigh. He was immediately brought to Lanao del Norte Provincial Hospital, then transferred to Mercy Hospital in Iligan City. He's now reportedly in stable condition.
Recovered from the crime scene was the suspect's gun with a magazine loaded with seven cartridges used
by the suspect and eight fired cartridge cases believed to be for carbine rifle now under the custody of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) in Lanao del Norte.
With this reports, Gonda said the police had truly adhered to the respect of human rights and human dignity.
“In the PNP’s doctrine in Police Operational Procedure (POP), the use of excessive force during police operation is prohibited,” Gonda said.
“But the use of firearm was justified considering it poses imminent danger of causing death or injury to the police officers. There was unlawful aggression, that prompted the police officers to open fire,” added Gonda.
The PRO-10 maintained that there was already an imminent threat to life of the PNP personnel on the ground when the suspect started firing at them and there was no option but to use force to subdue the suspect.
“The use of firearm was justified considering it poses imminent danger of causing death or injury to the police officers. There was unlawful aggression, that prompted the police officers to return fire,” the PRO-10 statement said.