PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar (File photo)
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday appealed to the public to let its Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) complete their probe before making any conclusions on the death of an 18-year-old man with special needs during an anti-illegal cockfighting operation in Valenzuela City.
PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar made this comment after a witness earlier surfaced and contradicted police claims that the victim tried to grab the service firearm of one of the police officers.
He added that he first met with the witness on Tuesday night through a meeting facilitated by some journalists.
The witness personally wanted to meet Eleazar to disclose what he saw during the incident.
“Minabuti natin na i-turn over siya sa NBI upang maiwasan ang anumang pagdududa sa isinasagawa naming imbestigasyon. Pumayag naman ang witness at personal kong tinawagan si NBI Director Eric Distor tungkol dito (We thought it would be proper to turn him over to the NBI to avoid any doubts on the investigations we are conducting. The witness agreed and I personally called NBI director Eric Distor about this)," he added.
In a social media post by Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, the witness contradicted the statement of the police that the victim, Edwin Arnnigo, grabbed the service firearm of one of the policemen.
Based on Gatchalian’s post, the witness knows that the incident was an accident "because he saw the reaction of the policeman after the shooting.”
“We will accept and abide by any findings of the NBI and of the IAS in the case. In the meantime, it would be prudent to wait for the outcome of the investigations being conducted,” he added.
Eleazar said he commended the witness who came forward to give his statement on the incident and said his decision to surface will be of great help in solving the case.
The policeman involved in the incident has been disarmed and placed under restrictive custody. (with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
