Cops to cooperate in CHR probe of Tanauan firefights

MANILA, Philippines – Police authorities on Friday vowed to cooperate with the impending probe by the Commission on Human Rights that the two firefights in Tanauan City that left four suspected robbers dead were cases of rubout. "This is a normal process…we welcome this, particularly those involved in the operations," said Senior Superintendent Aaron Fidel of the Calabarzon Regional Police. Fidel is also chief of Task Force RCBC, which is tasked to go after the perpetrators of last week’s robbery of the RCBC branch in Cabuyao town in Laguna province wherein 10 people were killed. A parallel investigation is also being conducted by the PNP Internal Affairs Service to determine if the killing of the four suspects was due to legitimate operations or summary execution. Killed during the first encounter on Wednesday night was Pepito Magsino while a cop identified as SPO1 Reynaldo Salazar was wounded. Those who died in the follow up operation on Thursday were Romy Lachica, Angelito Malabanan, and Vivencio Javier. Two others, identified as Louie Austria and Allan Tapia, were arrested. At the same time, Fidel said they have yet to link the slain suspects to the robbery-slay incident on May 16. "We still have no official statement saying that those killed in Batangas (were) involved in the RCBC (incident)," Fidel in a press briefing in Camp Crame. "Although we cannot discount that angle yet because the cross-matching of the recovered firearms, slugs and empty shells is still being processed by SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operations)," he added. - GMANews.TV