Rodriguez police chief, 19 others relieved over death of 3-year old kid

July 4, 2019

The chief of police of Rodriguez, Rizal and 19 others were relieved from their posts while the investigation against the death of a 3-year old girl allegedly used as “human shield” is ongoing.

This was ordered by Calabarzon (Cavite- Laguna- Batangas- Quezon) Regional Director, Police Brigadier General Edward Carranza following the directive of Police General Oscar Albayalde on Thursday to give way to the on-going investigation on the incident.

In a text message to The Daily Manila Shimbun, Carranza said he relieved the chief of police of the station where the incident transpired including 13 of its Drug Enforcement Unit and six personnel of Rizal Provincial Intelligence Branch.

“Purpose was to facilitate impartial investigation,” he said.

The relieved cops will be placed at Police Regional 4’s Personnel Admin Holding Unit and they will surrender their firearms for ballistic examination.

The directive was made after the mother of the victim claimed his daughter was not used as “human shield” by his live-in partner and the suspect was not the first one who fired shots against the authorities.

Myka, the daughter of one of the target alleged drug suspects, died after he was allegedly used by his father during the police operation as his shield. A cop and two other suspects, including the father of the child, also died in the same operation.

In a televisio interview, Albayalde said they are not justifying the death of the child even after one of their men also died.

“Let me stress this, we are not justifying the death of the child… whether the suspect made the child a shield or not, it’s not right that a child died,” he said.

“But then again, the PNP loss a personnel too. In a firefight remember, once you get shot, your instinct of course is to shoot back and anything could happen,” he said adding their police personnel were the ones who were shot first.

He said the result of the ballistic examination should come out in a few days.

“But with the 20 firearms and more, so that would probably take a little more time,” he said.

Asked on why the police report stated that the victim was playing, Albayalde said this was one of the reasons why he ordered an investigation.

“Well that’s the report, we cannot rely totally on the report. We have to investigate this, the reason why I directed the regional director to conduct an in-depth investigation,” he said.

The chief PNP said the police officer who sacrificed his life is the poseur buyer during the operation. Allegedly, the suspect noticed him and went back to his house to get a gun.

“Then he fired the officer who was hit downward and then the fatality, late Sergeant Conrado Cabigao Jr., returned fire. Unfortunately, the child was hit,” he said.

Albayalde said the two target suspects were also members of a gun-for-hire group. Ella Dionisio/DMS