Lawyer Christopher Ruiz Sr. turns emotional during an interview with a TV reporter at St. Peter’s funeral home where the vigil wake of his son, (inset) PO1 Christopher Jr. is being held.(CDN/APPLE TA-AS)
Investigators will be looking into possible negligence in the police training camp in Sibonga town, where PO1 Christopher Ruiz Jr. was electrocuted by a live wire in one of five stations where he and other trainees passed last Monday.
Police probers found out that parts of the low-lying electric wire, which Ruiz lifted to let his female classmates pass through, were exposed.
“I don’t want to preempt the inquiry but seemingly, they (investigators) found certain aspects og pagpabaya (negligence) of the AI (assistant instructor) who was in the second station during their reception and training orientation. But we will study the findings,” said Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, chief of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD).
He issued orders to Camp Ceperino Genovia for officials to check all safety measures to avoid a repeat of the tragedy.
Lawas assured the family the case would get “priority attention”.
“We will conduct an investigation and if there is a need for us to file criminal or administrative charges, we will do thatl,” said Lawas.
“We will treat this as a crime, we will investigate.”
An autopsy by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed that the 23-year-old trainee died of electrocution and had burn marks on his left hand.
Dr. Rene Cam of the NBI-7 said there were no suspicious body injuries to indicate foul play.
The trainee’s father Christopher Ruiz Sr. earlier asked the NBI to step in to find out what exactly happened. He was upset that no police officer explained to him the circumstances of his son’s death.
“The investigation will proceed focusing on whether the electrocution was intentional or not,” Cam told Cebu Daily News.
Parts of the electric wire were peeled off.
Probers will have to determine whether the exposed wire was placed there intentionally.
Sibonga police, in their own report, said there were five designated stations in the camp for the ISO training.
The electrocution happened in station 2, which has a man-made swamp near the St. Joseph Chapel where trainees could douse themselves to avoid heat exhaustion.
A certain PO1 Tisoy, one of Ruiz’s team mates, told police they had just drenched themselves in the swamp and were leaving the site when they saw a wire blocking their way. The electrical wire was connected from the chapel to the Post 2 guard station.
Ruiz pulled the wire up to help his female classmates pass through. The contact jolted him and his body shook.
PO1 Tisoy said he tried to help Ruiz Jr. but felt the electric current.
The police report said some parts of the electric wire were peeled off.
The investigation led by PO2 Lyndon Macatunog said a stand-by medical team tried to revive the young man to no avail.
The policeman was brought to the Sibonga Municipal Health Center then transferred to the South General Hospital in Naga City, Cebu where he was declared dead.
Lawas ordered officials of Camp Genovia to take steps to avoid a repeat of the incident.
“It’s sad to say that we seem reactive when the should have done it long before. Safety measures must be checked especially before engaging in trainings. Safety and security aspects should be looked into, not just the acquisition of skills,” he said.
Two other bodies are looking into the trainee’s death – the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Regional Public Safety Battalion Central Visayas (RPSB-7).
The policeman’s father, Christopher Ruiz Sr., a lawyer and a retired police official, had asked the assistance the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the incident.
Senior Supt. Clifford Gairanod, commander of the RPSB-7, said he was able to visit the victim’s vigil wake in Cebu City on Wednesday to convey condolences to the family.
The father, a retired police official and lawyer, said Gairanod explained to him what happened and that both agreed to proceed with the investigation.
“He told me he was not there when the incident happened. I was also not there so we agreed to cooperate with the investigation. I want to see the executed affidavit, not just accounts from newspaper reports,” Ruiz Sr. said.
The elder Ruiz earlier told reporters he had wanted to visit his son in the training camp, but the young man didn’t agree to avoid any resentment from peers that he was the son of a former police official.
“Dili na siya ganahan nga mubisita ko basin pag-initan unya siya,” he said.
Ruiz clarified that he was asking for an investigation to clear up any doubt about what happened, and not to look for someone to blame.
Gairanod said the camp orientation was stopped on Monday to pave the way for the investigation by Napolcom, RIDMD and Sibonga police.
The training resumed last Tuesday night.