Police, CHR to double-check self-confessed hitman’s claim
Prosecutors will investigate accusations against a barangay captain in Borbon town who was named a respondent yesterday in a case of illegal possession of a firearm and violations of the law on drugs.
Yet these are not the only cases Lugo, Borbon Barangay Captain Jinnefer Atillo Mercader may end up facing.
Both the Police Regional Office 7 and the Commission on Human Rights investigate Mercader’s own claim that government personalities had ordered him to kill 30 suspected criminals in Cebu City in 2004.
A high-ranking official of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 has ordered an investigation on the claims of a Borbon village official that he was hired by the government to kill 30 suspected criminals in Cebu City in 2004.
Chief Supt. Jose Mario Espino, the PRO 7 director, said they will look into the claims of Lugo, Borbon Barangay Captain Jinnefer Atillo Mercader, who yielded an assault rifle and several packs of shabu after he was caught in a raid last Saturday.
He said Mercader will face additional criminal complaints if his claims are proven true.
“We are requiring Mercader to submit proof sa kanyang mga sinasabing na hit niya (what he said were his hits) in order to confirm and validate what he is saying,” Espino said.
Mercader said he killed petty criminals, including snatchers and holduppers.
“If his claims are true, those crimes reported will be solved,” Espino said.
The police official added they will check on the politicians who possibly hired Mercader.
The Commission on Human Rights 7 will also conduct inquiry into Mercader’s claims. The vigilante-style killings started in 2004 and these waned in 2006.
Operatives seized an M-4 assault rifle loaded with 20 live bullets, shabu worth around P311,000 and P120,000 in cash believed to be drug proceeds.
Mercader was charged yesterday with illegal possession of a high-powered rifle and violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
Rights body
CHR-7 Regional Director Arvin Odron said that they will interview Mercader to look into his claims that he killed 30 people between 2004 to 2006.
“I plan to visit the Provincial Intelligence Branch so that the CHR and the Cebu Provincial Police Office regarding barangay captain Jinnefer Mercader’s allegations,” Odron said.
“He mentioned a politician in Cebu City. Our concern is that you are a politician, who is representing the state, a government employee. He is supposed to protect (citizens),” Odron said.
The CHR-7 director said that Mercader’s confession was crucial and might lead to more cases of alleged killings the barangay official revealed.
“This is a good chance for our law enforcers because if it’s true that he was really a hitman and he had victimized people, this might lead to a thorough investigation that might solve unresolved EJK killings during his time or to the official he mentioned that time,” Odron said.
Odron also encouraged the witnesses to come to their office if their loved ones were victims of extrajudicial killings.
“Just in case you know something related to EJK who may be a member of your family, please come and we will document it. We also offer the Witness Protection Program,” he said. /