HPG cop gets 12 years for rider’s slay
One of two police officers who killed a motorcycle rider after arresting him for a traffic violation in 2016 has been sentenced to serve eight to 12 years in prison.
In a decision released on Jan. 30, Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 145 Judge Carlito Calpatura downgraded the charge against former Police Officer 2 Jonjie Manon-og from murder to homicide for the killing of John dela Riarte.
The judge also ordered Manon-og to pay Dela Riarte’s heirs the following with an annual interest of six percent until they are fully paid: P50,000 as civil indemnity; P50,000 for moral damages; P189,150 as actual damages; and P3,240,000 for loss of earnings.
Calpatura found that based on Dela Riarte’s gunshot wounds that hit his heart, lungs and intestines, “the killing was intentional.”
Manon-og and Police Officer 3 Jeremiah de Villa, his co-accused who admitted to have shot Dela Riarte, seemed to have conspired with each other in killing Dela Riarte, he added.
The judge said the two policemen “had premeditated to kill John using the ‘nanlaban’ and ‘nang-agaw’ scheme, but which unfortunately was never proven with clear and convincing evidence.”
He was referring to two scenarios in which the detainee either fought back or tried to grab a policeman’s firearm.
The judge also noted conflicting statements in Manonog’s testimonies before the court, including the allegation that Dela Riarte freed himself from being handcuffed and that he grabbed the policeman’s firearm.
Calpatura also took note that Manon-og washed his hands as soon as he, De Villa and Dela Riarte reached Camp Crame in Quezon City, ruling that it was an indication of guilt.
The Makati City RTC Branch 138, in a Dec. 11, 2017 ruling, dismissed the robbery case against Manon-og for allegedly stealing Dela Riarte’s cash worth P30,000.
Judge Josefino Subia said no prosecution witness was able to prove that Dela Riarte carried the money before and when he was arrested by Manon-og and De Villa.
The two policemen nabbed Dela Riarte, who was driving a motorcycle, when he hit a car along Ayala Avenue in Makati City on July 29, 2016.
Dela Riarte was shot in the police car while on their way to Camp Crame in Quezon City.
His family, through the Public Attorney’s Office, filed murder and robbery charges against the two policemen before the Department of Justice.
A month after Dela Riarte’s death, De Villa jumped from the roof of the HPG office in Camp Crame and died.
In October last year, the National Police Commission dismissed De Villa and Manon-og from the police service.