SINAS
BLADEN SKYLER DEATH PROBE
While they welcomed the investigation of other government agencies into the death of four-year-old Bladen Skyler Abatayo, the Police Regional office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) said it could not be compelled to share its documents and evidences to other non-police investigating bodies.
In a press conference yesterday, PRO-7 director Chief Supt. Debold Sinas said that they welcome the investigation conducted by Commission on Human Rights in Central (CHR-7). However, this did not mean that they could give the investigating body the data and information that the police have.
“We do not have any problem that (CHR-7) conducted an investigation. But as to giving them data (that we gathered), we will ask guidance from Camp Crame,” said Sinas.
CHR-7 and the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) are now conducting separate investigations to determine if the four policemen from the Carbon Police Station of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) were responsible for the death of Abatayo, who was hit by a stray bullet during the policemen’s anti-drug operation in Sitio Bato, Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on July 10.
The two government agencies conducted the investigation based on the request of the Abatayo family, who blamed the death of the four-year-old child on the police.
Sinas said that if NBI-7 would request for information, the heads of the police units conducting the probe could decide if they would want to share their information with the agency.
However, in the case of CHR-7, Sinas said they would follow the directive from the Office of the President to refrain from disclosing their information to the human rights body.
“It is the standard guideline coming from the President (Rodrigo Duterte). Let the CHR investigate but we will not provide any other data in relation to (cases or incidents),” said Sinas.
Sinas stressed that the police would cooperate if CHR-7 would want to interview the four operatives, as long as the agency would be able to obtain the permission of the director of CCPO and if the subject police officers would allow an interview.
Subpoenas
In a text message to Cebu Daily News, CHR-7 Director Arvin Odron said that they will send subpoenas to the police, requesting them for some information, anytime this week.
“Subpoenas ad testificandum and subpoenas duces tecum are being prepared by the office,” said Odron.
Meanwhile, Senior Supt. Royina Garma, the CCPO director, said they already identified the four suspects who allegedly held the drug session that was the subject of the police operation that led to Abatayo’s death.
The police had earlier said that the child was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout with the suspects. But the boy’s parents and their neighbors had insisted there was no shootout and that the person who accidentally hit Bladen Skyler could be one of the policemen involved in the operation.
Garma said she could not yet divulge the identities of the four suspects as they were still building the case against them. The four, she added, would be charged with homicide and violation of the Anti-illegal Drugs Act.
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