The Department of Justice has dismissed for lack of evidence the murder complaint against 17 policemen implicated in the death of labor leader Emmanuel “Manny” Asuncion in 2021.
Asuncion, the DOJ said, was killed during a legitimate police operation after he exchanged shots with operatives who took part in the so-called “Bloody Sunday” raids in Calabarzon provinces on March 7,
2021.In a 23-page resolution, the DOJ panel led by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rodan Parrocha dismissed for lack of probable cause the complaint against the policemen who were accused of summarily executing Asuncion, a criminal offense punishable under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code.
The panel stressed that the evidence and circumstances presented during the preliminary investigation contradicted the claim of complainant Liezel Asuncion, the labor leader’s wife, that the officers intentionally killed her husband in the guise of a police operation.
“To reiterate, the service of the search warrant was a legitimate operation that turned sour when Emmanuel Asuncion resisted the authorities. Granting arguendo that some or any of the respondents shot Emmanuel Asuncion, however, it would appear that such incident occurred pursuant to the lawful fulfillment of their duty,” the DOJ resolution stated.
“We lament the demise of Emmanuel Asuncion. However, the complainantand the evidence she submitted failed to discharge the obligation to prove the existence of a crime and identify the perpetrators thereof,” it said.
Liezel alleged that on March 7, 2021, around 5:30 a.m. at least 15 police operatives arrived at the Worker’s Assistance Center Satellite Office at Salitran I, Dasmariñas Cty, Cavite.
She claimed the operatives, who were wearing masks and bonnets, forced their way inside the office and proceeded to their room on the second floor.
The complainant said she and her husband were pulled out of the room and were separated.
While she was being dragged away from her husband towards the ground floor, Liezel said she saw her husband lying on his stomach on the floor near the stairs.
Shortly after they were separated, Liezel said he heard a gunshot that came from the second floor.
Liezel said the operatives did not respond to her plea to check on her husband.
Thirty minutes later, Liezel said she saw her husband’s body soaked in blood being pulled out from the second floor.
But the DOJ panel pointed out that Liezel failed to establish the identities of her husband’s alleged assailants.
“Based on the foregoing circumstances, it is clear that there was no eyewitness to the purported killing of Emmanuel Asuncion. Likewise, there was also nothing that directly incriminates the respondents in killing him,” the resolution said.
According to the prosecutors, it considered the evidence presented by the complainant against the policemen as mere “circumstantial evidence.”
On the other hand, the DOJ said the respondents were also to present evidence showing the implementation of the search warrants was a legitimate operation and that in the process Asuncion resisted the police authorities.
The DOJ noted the findings that both hands of Asuncion contained gunpowder nitrates, proving the respondents’ assertions that he fired upon the raiding police team.
Last December, the Task Force-Special Investigating Team (SIT) endorsed the conduct of a preliminary investigation for possible filing of murder charges against the law enforcers believed to beinvolved in the killing of Asuncion.
During the “Bloody Sunday” operations, military and police personnel conducted simultaneous operations in the provinces of Rizal, Batangas and Cavite that resulted in the death of nine activists.