Father claims son killed in botched police op

Narciso Batucan shows the slug of a .45 caliber bullet behind a bullet hole on the wall of his house where the bullet passed. His seven-year-old son was killed by a stray bullet which came from motorcycle-riding men who were chasing a teenager who was an alleged drug pusher. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

WILSON Batucan is convinced that the bullet that killed his seven-year-old son was fired from a gun owned by a policeman.

His son, San Niño, was watching television when he was hit by a stray bullet fired by one of two men chasing a 17-year-old boy, believed to be involved in illegal drugs in Sitio Latasan, Barangay Cansaga in Consolacion town Saturday evening.

The spot report of Consolacion Police Office showed that two unidentified men riding a motorcycle were chasing the 17-year-old boy and fired shots at him near the house of Batucan.

But Batucan strongly believes it was a police operation gone wrong.

“Looy kaayo bataa, nadamay lang sa palpak nila nga operasyon (My son was a victim of a failed police operation),” Batucan said.

No operation

The police, however, belied Batucan’s accusations, saying there was no police operation at that time.

“When we have drug operations, we always coordinate with PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency). Secondly, in our initial investigation the suspects were wearing bonnets. I won’t allow my policemen to wear those during operations,” said Senior Insp. William Homoc, Consolacion Police Station chief, in Cebuano.

He denied that they have not been investigating the incident, saying they, in fact, already have a strong lead.

“Na-develop nato nga lead kadtong gigukod sa suspect naka-tumbling og kwarta gikan sa druga. Wala bayari posible mao to ang namusil (We developed a lead that the subject of the suspects did not remit drug money),” Homoc said.

He said the suspects are part of a group involved in the illegal drug trade in the town.

Witnesses

Batucan said he was not the only one who saw the incident as there were many bystanders then.

He said that the suspects were wearing bonnets that covered their faces.

The reason why he believes it was a botched police operation is because he recovered the slug of a .45 caliber bullet which killed his son.

“Nagduda usab ko kay wala g’yud niari sa amo nga mangimbetsiga. Kadto rang adlaw nahitabo tong pagpamusil. Nangita sila og mga bala pero ana sila, wala silay nakit-an pero nganong naa man mi nakit-an (I became suspicious because they never came to investigate, only when the shooting happened. They were looking for bullets but did not find any. But why were we able to recover a bullet)?” Batucan said while showing to Cebu Daily News the slug which was found by his other son.

Another resident, who requested anonymity, said there were not only two suspects but four, chasing the 17-year-old boy.

“Ingon ang police duha ra ug usa ka motor. Pero upat to sila nga nagpares-pares sa duha ka motor, (There were four of them on board two motorcycles),” the resident said.

She said the teenager chased by the suspects was indeed known as a drug pusher in their community and had been the subject of police operations.
Batucan said he will ask the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 in investigating the death of his son.

“Dili to makatarungan ilahang gibuhat. Dakong biktima akong anak sa ilang pagpabaya, nadamay intawn akong pamilya. Akong asawa dili na mokaon tungod sa nahitabo. Mangita g’yud mi og hustisya (What they did is not justifiable. My son is the victim of their negligence. We will seek justice),” the father said.