DID YOU HEAR WHAT WE HEARD?

LESS THAN NEWS, MORE THAN RUMOR

7 WAYS THE POLICE CAN DISPEL SUSPICION A COP WAS SHOT IN CARCAR

With fingers pointed at the possible involvement of police in the August 8 killing of PDEA agent Von Rian Tecson in Perelos, Carcar City, they may need to show more than what police have told the public.

Specifically, on whether SPO1 Roderick Balili who was shot and wounded supposedly in a freak firearm accident in Pinamungahan, Cebu at about the same time on the same day the PDEA agent was ambushed and slain. Police may do some or all of these things:

[1] Locate and produce the shooter whom Tecson shot and wounded in return fire and taken away by his companion killers; that may show that it was not Balili who took part in the Carcar gunplay.

[2] Produce Tecson’s gun and ballistics test results that show it was not the firearm that shot and killed Balili.

[3] Produce Balili’s gun and produce a ballistics test that shows it was his own firearm that hit and killed him; the gun may also show its defect and the cause of the misfiring.

[4] Produce the autopsy report that shows the trajectory of the bullets that struck Balili, whether it was consistent to the police claim that he was hit and killed by his own firearm.

[5] Present the driver who supposedly turned over the gun to Balili when it exploded; his narration may show the cause of the misfiring.

[6] Produce records of the hospital where Balili was taken, the blotter of the police station in Pinamungahan where the accidental firing allegedly took place or, in its absence, testimony of townfolk who heard or saw the incident; the timeline must show that Pinamungahan was the more likely origin of the patient than Perelos, Carcar.

[7] Solve the crime by identifying and arresting the shooters who survived the shootout, with the evidence to prosecute them and, importantly, show that they were not police or anyone working for the PNP.

WHY THE BURDEN OF PROOF

Police are not required to convince the public that Balili was not the Perelos shooter whom Tecson shot and killed. Their evidence will be needed only when police take the case to the prosecutors, then the court.

But this case is different. Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña publicly accused the police of involvement in the recent rash of shootings in Cebu, including the ambush-slay of Tecson.

And people are asking questions, fueled by the pesky poking by such radio commentators as Erik S. Manait and Torni Frank Malilong on dyCM radio and print reporters as Rene Borromeo.

The police theory is questioned and rejected, for now, until maybe the police can give a more plausible and believable explanation. In the battle for public opinion, apparently the police are not scoring points for the PNP.

The Supreme Court downgraded the conviction of brothers Michael and Allan Delima from murder to homicide for the death of Ramel Congreso last June 13, 2009.