COMMONWEALTH SHOOTOUT

PNP, PDEA: Criminal, admin charges will be filed

The Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Thursday assured the public that criminal and administrative charges will be filed against those who will be found liable for the shootout that transpired near a mall along Commonwealth Avenue on Wednesday.

"At the end of it all, we can assure our people that there will be criminal and administrative charges to be filed against those individuals found to have violated the laws, rules and regulations," PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana read the statement of the two agencies at the start of the press conference.

While admitting that the incident caused a temporary setback, PNP and PDEA said the war on drugs will continue.

The law enforcement agencies also said that all the pieces of evidence are being gathered by combined efforts of their investigators.

"Autopsies on the dead bodies were also being attended to. Firearms and empty shells have been surrendered and confiscated. Forensic examination on the cellphones and other gadgets from both sides has also been included. And yes, families of the fallen personnel were also notified," the joint statement read.

During the press conference, PDEA chief Wilkins Villanueva said they are careful in making statements.

“As of now, wala kaming puwedeng maibigay, kung ano, how it happened, because we are collecting all the pieces of evidence needed para ma-find out namin kung paano ito nag-umpisa at kung paano ito nag-escalate,” he said.

“Dito tayo careful kasi gusto natin malaman kung ano talaga ang nangyari by getting all the pieces of evidence required by this investigation,” he added.

Meanwhile, PNP chief Police General Debold Sinas said all the evidence will be surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The CIDG has been tasked to lead the joint investigation on the matter.

Further, the PNP and PDEA appealed to the public for patience in waiting for their investigation. A joint PNP-PDEA board of inquiry was established to investigate the incident.

“Give us two weeks. Baka may picture na tayo but as of now ‘di nakakatulong ‘yong lahat ng speculation natin kasi lahat ‘yan lalo lang nagpapaigting ng sama ng loob ng parehong unit ng pulis at PDEA,” Villanueva said.

“Speculations will not solve the problem but will just create a bigger one,” he added.

A total of four people were killed in the shootout between police and narcotics agents on Wednesday evening.

Both parties insisted that they followed procedures and conducted proper coordination.

Earlier, PNP spokesman Police Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana said the incident would in no way affect the operational relationship between the two agencies.—AOL, GMA News