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It may have been premature to congratulate the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for last week's operation against the Greenbelt gang led by Alvin Flores that ended with the death of four suspects and the arrest of another in Compostela town, Cebu.
That is, if we are to believe police suspicions that the gunfire may have come from only one side.
The doubt stems from claims of one caretaker, who said only two men checked into the seaside apartment where they holed up to escape law enforcers in Manila.
There are supposedly other witnesses who can back up the caretaker's claim though they requested anonymity for fear, justified or not, of reprisal from authorities.
The NBI in Central Visayas (NBI-7) voiced disappointment over a CEBU DAILY NEWS headline that raised the possibility of a rubout by the gang.
Witness accounts also say the NBI strike team somehow gained smooth entry in the gated compound. (Did someone, on cue, let them in? ) Shortly after, the sounds of gunfire broke the air.
When the smoke cleared — or rather, when the gates were opened four hours later — four bodies were ready for the morgue.
A TV reporter noticed with surprise the lack of bullet holes in the apartment or outdoor beach hut. NBI raiders could take this as a compliment that their shooters were marksmen with deadly aim for human targets who were armed and dangerous.
Policemen admitted they were slighted by the conduct of the NBI’s need-to-know-basis operation, to which they were not invited.
Turf envy aside, an investigation into the possible use of excess force in serving warrants would have to deal with verifiable facts.
The Central Visayas police office already sent a team to look into the claims for “documentation” purposes only. On the other hand, NBI agents said the public should wait for the ballistics and autopsy results to clear up the mater. The testimony of the lone survivor of the Compostela raid, a Cebuano gang member who tried to wade into the waters, could also shed light on the sequence of events.
Overkill isn’t an uncommon approach of law enforcers. The 1995 Kuratong Baleleng rubout, where handcuffed, arrested crime gang members ended up dead in a police van in Parańaque, Metro Manila, reached the court and stayed in national headlines for years until the witnesses recanted.
While the NBI may be disappointed with the CDN report, they shouldn't hesitate to provide access to media and be transparent about the Compostela operation.
A rubout is difficult to prove without witnesses who stand by their accounts. If the police can find solid evidence that rules of engagement were not properly followed, and that Compostela was the scene of an extermination, not a warrant service, let them produce it.
The job of law enforcers is to implement the law, not condut summary executions that subvert the justice system they are sworn to uphold.
