Kin of alleged jueteng lord mull charges vs authorities in Atimonan shootout

Family members of Victor Siman — the alleged jueteng operator who was among those killed in last week's supposed shootout in Quezon province — are considering filing charges against the law enforcers involved in the bloody incident, a GMA News report said.

 

In a report by GMA News' John Consulta, the victim's father, Rodolfo Siman, said he wants the name of his son to be cleared. The TV report, however, did not say what specific complaint the Siman camp plans to file against the law enforcers.

 

“Gusto kong lumiwanag at walang kasalanan ang anak ko,” the elder Siman said in the television interview.

 

 

On Tuesday, Vic Siman was laid to rest at the Holy Family Cemetery in Calamba, Laguna, more than a week after he was killed by authorities along with 12 others after they supposedly ignored a checkpoint in Atimonan town in Quezon province.

 

Police initially said the fatalities were members of a gun-for-hire group—a claim denied by the victims' relatives.

 

Superintendent Hansel Marantan, the regional intelligence officer who was one of the of law enforcers manning the checkpoint, earlier said that Vic Siman led a “partisan armed group” engaged in operations of the illegal numbers game, jueteng.

 

Vic Siman's brother, Christopher, however, denied claims that VIc Siman, was involved in illegal activities. The Siman patriarch, meanwhile, said he trusts the investigation being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation, which was designated by President Benigno Aquino III as the sole investigating body in the Quezon incident.

 

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa Pangulo. May tiwala ako sa ginagawang investigation ng NBI,” Vic Siman's father said.

 

The police officials involved in the alleged shootout in Quezon already faced the NBI on Wednesday morning to give their statements on the bloody incident. — with Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News