‘They killed my sons one by one’
It was still dark when she and her family were forced to leave their shanty inside the Cebu International Convention Center in the wee hours of the morning on Monday.
While they were outside, police allegedly threatened them by saying “ayaw mo’g samok, i-no bail ta mo ron (back off, or else we’ll send you to jail),” as other police operatives allegedly killed her three sons one by one back in her own shanty.
The statement came from 40-year-old Jean Umpad, mother of three brothers – Jerome, 28; Ruben, 25; and Vincent, 26 – who were killed in an anti-narcotics operation conducted by the Mandaue City Police Office Station 3.
At her sons’ wake just outside CICC yesterday, Jean was crying for justice, apparently still unable to accept that her sons – just released from prison three days earlier – were gone after their quick reunion.
“Atong Domingo nanimba mi. Nisimba mi kay nagpasalamat ko nga nakagawas na sila unya human naingon ana. Unya igka Lunes unta magdagkot mi sa ilahang amahan. Namatay naman to ilaha papa. Karon wala (sila) naabtan og Lunes,” Jean said.
She showed the media photos of his lifeless sons: Vincent suffered three gunshots in the body, Jerome was shot to the head, and Ruben to the chest. Another brother, Rustom, 23, was arrested and now detained.
They were among the 100 detainees who had availed of the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW), a program initiated by the Supreme Court wherein their release papers were documented and processed on the same day by the Mandaue City Court of Justice.
Murder and direct assault were the recorded criminal cases of the siblings before they were set free from Mandaue City Jail. They were released from the facility last Friday.
Police Chief Inspector Michelangelo Beltran, chief of MCPO-Station 3, said the three brothers, who were “new players” of illegal drugs, fought the police and engaged them in a shootout, resulting in their deaths.
But Jean belied the police’s statements. Her sons, she said, were innocent and not involved in any illegal drug activities.
She believed that the police may have planted drugs and firearms.
“Sayop ilahang gistorya. Buy-bust operation? Akong (mga) anak? Duha ka adlaw naninda’g shabu? Wa man gali! Pag-gawas sa prisohan akoa man gani na (sila) gi-abag. Gabii na mi nanggawas niadtong Biyernes. Unya karon, duha ka adlaw, gibutangan mi’g shabu, gibutangan pa gyud mi nila’g armas. Paita oy,” Jean said.
She said it was impossible for them to possess those kinds of weapons because they are poor and only living in a makeshift house inside the CICC.
Her family is among the 2,222 people displaced by a fire that hit Barangay Guizo March last year.
Jean is now anxious about the situation of Rustom, as he might be abused by the police while detained at MCPO-Station 3.
“Wala ta kahibaw unsaon na sad to nila… Ang akong anak si Rustom gusto gyud nako pagawson. Pagawson unta to nila, wala man tawn to nakuhai’g unsa. Mayta makagawas to akong anak,” she said.
She recounted that her family was just sleeping inside the house when the police barged inside, dragged at least four members of the family, leaving the three brothers inside.
“Gisud mi’s police, gi-tukmod ang pultahan, gipagawas mi. Gipagawas mi: ako, akong pag-umangkon ug usa nako ka anak nga napriso karon (si Rustom). Gibilin ang tulo (Ruben, Jerome, and Vincent). Paggawas namo, nakadungog ko gipamusil. Bang! Bang! Na wan-a patay na gyud akong mga anak. Wala na gyod koy mahimo,” Jean recalled.
LEGITIMATE
Police Senior Superintendent Roberto Alanas, director of MCPO, said the buy-bust conducted by the police station was a legitimate operation in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
“Unang-unang, yung operation nangyari doon sa Barangay Guizo sa CICC ay legitimate operation. Bago nagkaroon ng operation, nagkaroon ng PDEA coordination upon receiving the information,” Alanas told reporters.
The buy-bust operation was not a staged, he said, adding they have reliable sources to prove the case.
“Buy-bust (ito) na nagkaroon ng shootout. Hindi ito rub-out,” Alanas stressed.
Alanas said the police will welcome it if the family would decide to file a complaint against them. If the Commission on Human Rights wants to dig deeper into the operation, the police are also willing to participate in the investigation, he said.
“Well, this is a war on drugs. I want to clarify na sa drug war, you can operate any part of Mandaue City Police Office as long as they will follow police procedure,” Alanas said.
Chief Superintendent Jose Mario Espino, Police Regional Office-7 director, also made the same assurance.
“That is the hazard and risk ng ating trabaho na every time we will conduct an operation, we are being counter-charged for harassment. The policemen involved in the operation open naman sila for investigation,” Espino saidCHR
Jean said she wants to seek CHR’s help to defend Rustom, but needs to first attend to the wake of her three sons.
Senior Superintendent Jonathan Cabal, chief of the Regional Intelligence Division, said it’s the right of the family to seek redress for their grievances and get assistance from the CHR.
However, Cabal said it is premature to assume that MCPO has violated standard operating procedures, not unless the commission has made its investigation.
“Kung meron mang lapses sa police operational procedures, we will see to it. They (family of the brothers killed) can look into some excesses ng mga government forces, but I don’t think na there is in this case, kasi there is this presumption of regularity. Until such time that the CHR has conducted its own investigation, we cannot say that MCPO did something wrong in that incident,” Cabal said.
He reiterated that part of the regional director’s thrust is not condoning police lapses when it comes to breaking the rule of law.
“As a matter of procedure gusto ng regional director na tama ang ginagawa ng ating kapulisan. Kagaya nga ng sinasabi niya sa mga command conferences, always observe the rule of law, and human rights at hindi niya papayagan naman na may ganitong insidente,” Cabal said.
— Christell Fatima M. Tudtud and Mae Clydyl L. Avila /JMD