Marantan insists he cooperated in Atimonan massacre probe

(Updated 7:27 p.m.) Superintendent Hansel Marantan, the lone police officer wounded in the January 6 supposed encounter in Atimonan, Quezon said he already gave investigators his account of the incident, contrary to Interior Secretary Mar Roxas' statement that he refused to cooperate in a Philippine National Police (PNP) investigation. 

 

"Lahat po ng mga tinanong nila, I answered freely. Even the Commission on Human Rights, nag take down notes sila, even the members of the SOCO together with the CIDG, nag-take down notes sila," Marantan told GMA News on Tuesday night. The interview was aired on Wednesday morning on GMA Network's "Unang Balita." Roxas, however, maintained that the PNP fact-finding report did not include Marantan's statement. “'Yun ang nilalaman ng report. Hindi naman ako nakikipag-debate sa kanya (Marantan). Ang sinasabi ng report ay hindi siya nakuhanan ng statement,” Roxas said in a separate phone interview. He also maintained his earlier call to Marantan to submit himself to the investigation being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation on the Quezon incident. “Ang maipapayo ko lang, kung ano man ang statement niya, sabihin niya ito sa NBI. Seryosong bagay ito,” Roxas said. Insubordination The PNP, for its part, said Marantan's continued non-cooperation to the fact-finding  team "is tantamount to unduly witholding the truth" behind the incident. In this case, Marantan is now deemed as having waived his right to present his side," said Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., the PNP spokesman. "From here, the PNP will now initiate appropriate procedural actions to determine the administrative culpability of all parties concerned," he added. He said the objective of the fact-finding team is to determine whether or not violations of policy, particularly the Police Operational Procedures (POP) where violated in the incident. "Much as the personnel involved rightfully deserve due process and the benefit of the doubt under the presumption of regularity in the performance of duty,  Marantan's continued refusal to give his statement and turnover evidence to investigators constitute obstruction of justice and outright insubordination," Cerbo said. Marantan: Roxas, PNP chief 'misinformed' On Tuesday afternoon, Roxas said the injured police officer refused to cooperate in the investigation into the supposed clash that left 13 people, including lawmen and an environmentalist, dead at an Atimonan checkpoint led by Marantan.

"Mataas ang respeto ko sa Interior Secretary, mataas ang respeto ko sa ating chief ng PNP, pero I think they are misinformed," Marantan said, noting that he even showed investigators his bullet wounds.

 

"Eto po yung photographs nila, they even came here, took photographs of me at nandito po yung case number," he added.

 

He also told investigators to get the bullet found in his right knee. The bullet is being kept at St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City, where Marantan is recovering. The hospital's in house security will turn over the bullet to authorities for investigation, the report said.

 

Marantan said it is up to NBI to examine the bullet but he believed it came from a .45 cal. pistol. Marantan's lawyer will face the NBI investigation, the report said.

 

"I am pretty sure that the bullet [came] from the enemy side," Marantan said.

 

According to the same TV report, Marantan may be discharged within a few days but the wound is expected to take months to heal. 'Not an overkill'

 

According to Marantan, the Atimonan operation was not overkill, as he and his companions were only defending themselves.

 

"If you think the suspects can still inflict injury to you or to others, you can still fire your firearms," he said.

 

However, the killing of 13 men in the supposed shootout was not justified, according to NBI deputy director for regional operations services Virgilio Mendez, whose initial evaluation of the incident was based on the evidence collected so far. 

 

“Parating tinatanong kung rubout ba ito o encounter. At this time, kung ako ang tatanungin on whether the killing is justified or not, tingin ko hindi,” Mendez said in a previous report. — Carmela Lapeña with Andreo Calonzo/RSJ/VVP/KBK GMA News