Jemboy’s mom says they won’t drop case vs. Navotas cops

The mother of Jemboy Baltazar on Tuesday said she would reject any offers in exchange for dropping the complaint against the Navotas policemen who killed her son.

“Hindi po ako makakapayag [I will not accept],” Rodaliza Baltazar told Dobol B TV when asked about alleged offers for the family to drop the complaint.

“Tapos halagang P5,000 lang ibibigay nila sa anak ko tapos okay na? Ano ‘yun, ibon lang na nagbaril-baril sila? Tapos nalunod pa yung anak ko, pinabayaan nila ng tatlong oras…” she added.

(They will give P5,000 for the death of my son and they think it is already okay? It was like they just shot a bird. My son drowned because they just left him in the river for three hours.)

She added that their lawyer is eyeing to upgrade the complaint against the cops.

On Monday, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said authorities will check the result of Jemboy’s autopsy to determine if the complaint filed against the cops should be upgraded to murder, from reckless imprudence resulting to homicide.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun on Saturday said autopsy results revealed that Jemboy also had a gunshot wound on his right hand, indicating that he tried to defend himself.

The autopsy found that Jemboy was shot twice: in the head—with the entry wound behind the ear and the exit wound on the nose—and on the right hand.

According to his death certificate, Jemboy’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, as well as asphyxia from drowning.

But Fortun said had Jemboy not fallen into the river following the shooting incident, he could have been rescued.

On August 2, the teenager was on a small boat on his way to go fishing when he was shot and killed by Navotas City cops in Barangay NBBS Kaunlaran.

A friend who was with him said they were preparing their boat when a policeman ordered them to get off.

They reportedly tried to give themselves up but the cops allegedly kept on shooting.

It was at this point that Baltazar dove into the water.

The police later claimed it had been a case of mistaken identity. Some of the six policemen said in their affidavits that they fired shots only at the water and that they did not intend to hit the teenager. — BM, GMA Integrated News