■ CALL CENTER AGENT'S FAMILY ASKS CHR TO PROBE HIS DEATH IN PDEA OPERATION
Niño Roel Taboada, 28, was a call center agent and licensed criminologist, and not the drug pusher that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said he was. His family asserted that when they asked the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7 to investigate the PDEA’s operation last week in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City that ended in Taboada’s death. Leo Villarino, CHR 7 chief investigator, said that the family has promised to provide witnesses after Taboada’s burial this weekend. This is the third alleged case of an extrajudicial killing attributed to PDEA 7 since President Rodrigo Duterte’s term began last June 30, 2016. The Cebu City Police Office confirmed yesterday that Taboada was not on their list of targets in the campaign against illegal drugs, but that the PDEA has its own list.
The family of a 28-year-old call center who was killed during an anti-drug operation has formally filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7.
Leo Villarino, CHR 7 chief investigator, told SunStar Cebu that a relative of Niño Rodel Taboada came to their office last Friday and formally filed a complaint against the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7.
But Susan Taboada, the victim’s aunt and the complainant in the case, has yet to present their witnesses before the CHR 7 to support their case, Villarino said.
Taboada, 28, an alleged drug pusher and drug den maintainer, was killed by PDEA 7 operatives in an operation in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City last week.
But Taboada’s relatives questioned the operation, claiming that PDEA 7 operatives mistook the victim as a drug pusher. Taboada is a registered criminologist and call center agent.
Villarino said that while they have formally accepted the family’s complaint, they can’t proceed with the investigation until they provide witnesses.
Taboada’s family vowed to provide witnesses to CHR after the victim has been laid to rest during the weekend, he added.
Taboada’s case is the third extrajudicial killing incident allegedly attributed to PDEA 7 since the President Rodrigo Duterte came into power last year.
Villarino disclosed that since last year, they have started investigating two suspected EJK cases attributed to PDEA 7.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office said Taboada is not in their target list.
City Director Joel Doria said the city police will provide assistance to the family of the slain call center agent if they need it.
Doria stressed that even if Taboada is not in their list, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 has its own list.