Family sees foul play in police's killing of drug suspect in QC

A family saw a possible foul play in the police's killing of another drug suspect in Quezon City earlier this week.

In a 24 Oras report on Saturday, Siokim Ignacio believed that her 39-year-old son, Randy, was intentionally killed by policemen.

Siokim said her son went missing on Monday. Randy's live-in partner said he had told her that he was called to fix a video karera machine.

"Ang sabi niya sa akin, 'mahal saglit lang ako may pinapaayos lang na video carera," Jessica Vergara, live-in partner of Randy, said.

Randy, however, did not return home on Monday night and his family decided to report this to the police.

The found out that Randy had been killed by operatives of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 9 in an alleged buy-bust operation in Kaingin II, Barangay Pansol around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

A police blotter on the buy-bust operation said that policemen seized four sachets of suspected shabu and a .38 revolver from Randy following an firefight.

"Nilagyan pa nila ng baril, nilagyan pa nila ng shabu. Saan kukuha ng pambili ng shabu yon? Pambili ng baril... pansigarilyo nga nambuburaot yan sa labas pag di ko binigyan,"  Siokim said.

She said that after learning about her son's death, she went to the barangay hall at Barangay UP Campus and asked for a copy of their CCTV footage.

"Pumunta ako ngayon sa barangay ng UP Campus. Nakiusap ako 'may CCTV po ba sa may White House? Pwede ba ma-review? meron daw," she said.

Based on the CCTV footage obtained, Randy was seen walking along with several men on the night of August 21 three hours before the questioned police operation occured.

The footage also showed Randy walking towards a dark street and was seen being followed by the group of men.

According to Siokim, somebody had told her that the men following her son in the CCTV video were policemen.

The CCTV video was caught along Jacinto Street, Village C in Barangay UP Campus, which is far from where the said police encounter occured.

"Bakit nakarating siya don? Ibig sabihin dinala siya ng pulis doon," Siokim said.

QCPD Director Guillermo Eleazar has been given a copy of the CCTV video and assured that they will investigate the case.

"Dapat maliwanagan tayo kung ano ba talaga itong laman ng video. We will request for enhancement nito para makita natin," Eleazar said.

The family's claim came amid the public outrage over the Caloocan City policemen's killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, whose funeral on Saturday was attended by hundreds of people.

Delos Santos was killed during an anti-drugs operation last August 16.

Police claimed that the teenager was killed in a firefight, but witnesses have claimed hearing Delos Santos begging for his life.

A CCTV camera footage also showed Delos Santos being carried by policemen, which his family claimed would disprove the policemen's claim that he tried to escape. —report from Oscar Oida/Ted Cordero/ALG, GMA News