Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun on Thursday lamented the resolution issued by state prosecutors which dismissed the murder complaint filed against 17 police officers over the killing of labor leader Manny Asuncion.
Fortun described some arguments in the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution as “crazy,” saying the prosecutors even “twisted” her forensic report, ABS-CBN News reported
An autopsy result on Asuncion suggested homicide. “I find their arguments crazy. They even twisted my findings, my report,” Fortun, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said.
In dismissing the murder complaint, the DOJ panel said the autopsy “did not provide any findings or suggestion as to who caused the said injuries.”
“They wanted me to put in my report the identity of the assailants. We don’t do that. That’s crazy,” Fortun told ANC’s “Rundown”.
Fortun further said “it tells you that you don’t understand what forensic investigation is
about. Is this a determined, concerted effort to simply dismiss the case?”
The resolution also stated that Asuncion’s wife, Liezel, was not able to adequately substantiate her allegations against the police officers.
But Liezel earlier said the men in police uniform wore ski masks and had their nameplates covered by a red cloth.
“How do you identify who shot the victim? You have physical evidence. This is where an independent, scientific, objective investigation should come in,” Fortun said.
“But generally in the Philippines, killers investigate themselves especially when you have people dying in police operations. Who does the investigation? It’s still the PNP (Philippine National Police),” she added.
Fortun, according to the ABS-CBN News report, asked if the dismissal of the murder complaint was part of DOJ’s move to improve the conviction rate in criminal cases.
“Before you file a case, you must have an airtight case. But my fear is, is this final? What can NBI do if your investigation is lousy, you scene wasn’t really processed well, your crime lab is defective? What else can NBI do?” she said.
“My biggest fear is you don’t want to lose cases then don’t file them. Is that the strategy now?”
Asuncion was 1 of 9 activists killed during simultaneous pre-dawn raids in March 2021 in Cavite, Batangas, and Rizal.
Among those killed were fisherfolk leaders Chai Lemita-Evangelista and Ariel Evangelista in Nasugbu, Batangas, reports said.