黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The wife of a slain barangay captain from Arayat town in Pampanga 鈥� who is an elected official herself 鈥� was scolded for not allowing an autopsy and for claiming that justice is unattainable in the country.

This instance happened at聽the hearing of the House of Representatives鈥� committee on public order and safety on Monday.

Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop asked Police Cpl. Marco Polo Ramirez who was handling the case of former Laquios barangay captain Norberto 鈥淢el鈥� Lumbang and how the investigation was conducted.

Lumbang was killed last August 11, 2024 inside the barangay hall of Laquios in Pampanga.

When Acop quizzed the investigator if he recovered the M16 bullet slugs from Lumbang鈥檚 body, Ramirez replied that they were not able to do so as the victim鈥檚 wife, Arayat Councilor Che Lumbang, signed a waiver.

鈥淭herefore, meron pong nahulog na mga basyo ng bala, at may nakuha rin po siguro na bullet heads ng M16, tama?鈥� Acop asked.

(Therefore, there were bullet casings which fell, and you were also able to recover bullet heads from the M16 [rifle], correct?)

鈥淔ired cartridge lang (only) po,鈥� Ramirez replied.

鈥淲ala 鈥榶ung bullet heads sa katawan ni k鈥檞an (Lumbang)?聽 Wala kayong nakuha doon sa katawan ni late barangay captain, 鈥榶ung slugs?鈥� Acop asked again.

(You did not recover any bullet heads from Lumbang鈥檚 body? There were no slugs inside the body of the late barangay captain鈥檚 body?)

鈥淏akit, hindi nyo pina-autopsy 鈥榶ung katawan?聽 鈥楧i ba 鈥榩ag namatay sa firearm, pagbaril, mandatory 鈥榶ung autopsy ng katawan?鈥� the lawmaker wanted to know.

(Why didn鈥檛 you do an autopsy on the body? Isn鈥檛 it that when someone dies from a gun attack, an autopsy is mandatory?)

鈥淲ala po, Mr. Chair [鈥�]. Nag-execute po ng waiver for the conduct of the autopsy po 鈥榶ung asawa po, saka 鈥榶ung anak po ng biktima,鈥� the police officer said.

(There was none, Mr. Chair [鈥�] The wife and the offspring of the victim executed a waiver for the conduct of the autopsy.)

Acop then turned to Councilor Lumbang, who was present in the hearing, to ask if this is true.

The Arayat council member then said that she did this because she felt that they would not be able to attain justice for her husband.

鈥淥po, Mr. Chair [鈥�] dahil alam naman po namin na sa bayan po ng Arayat, kahit na may mga ganyan po na proseso, wala po nakukuhang hustisya, Mr. Chair,鈥� Councilor Lumbang claimed.

(Yes Mr. Chair [鈥�] because we know in our hometown of Arayat, even if there are processes like that, we will not get any justice, Mr. Chair.)

鈥淎lam naman po namin na wala pong nakukuhang hustisya po sa ganyan na pangyayari,鈥� she told Acop.

(We know that there would be no justice for these kinds of incidents.)

鈥淎y kung kayo po mismo ay opisyal ng ating gubyerno, kayo na mismo ang nagsasabi na walang nakukuhang hustisya sa gubyerno, hindi po ba dapat mag-resign kayo dahil hindi po kayo naniniwala sa ating gubyerno?鈥� Acop fired back.

(If you yourself, an official of our government, say that you will not get justice from the government, shouldn鈥檛 you resign from your post because you do not believe in it?)

鈥淢r. Chair, kami po naniniwala po sa ganyan na pangyayari kaya nga po nandito ako (sa House) para ilaban po 鈥榶ung kaso ni Mel,鈥� Councilor Lumbang claimed.

(Mr. Chair, we believe in injustice that鈥檚 why we are here at this House hearing to fight for Mel鈥檚 case.)

Acop, a former police general who used to head the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, explained that the recovery of the slugs or bullet heads would have a big impact on the investigation.

鈥淜asi, para ipaalam ko po sa inyo, Konsehala, importante po na makuha ng kapulisan 鈥榶ong cartridge saka 鈥榶ong slug ng bala, para ma-identify kung ano talaga 鈥榶ung baril na ginamit doon sa pagpatay sa inyong nasirang asawa,鈥� the lawmaker stressed.

(Just to inform you, Councilor, it is important for the police to get the cartridge and the slug of the bullet to be able to identify which firearm was really used to kill your late husband.)

鈥淜aya gano鈥檔 po 鈥榶ung aking pagtatanong kasi 鈥榶un po 鈥榶ung talagang protocol ng pag-iimbestiga po sa kasong mga ganito,鈥� Acop pointed out.

(That鈥檚 why I pursued this line of questioning because it is really part of the protocol for investigating cases like these.)

鈥淜ung kayo po mismo hindi kayo naniniwala na kayo po鈥檡 makakakamit ng hustisya, eh bakit po kayo nandito ngayong araw na ito? Ang tagal na po ng nangyari,鈥� he wondered.

(If you yourself would not believe that you can attain justice, why are you still here today? This happened a long time ago.)

Reports said that Lumbang, 57, was inside the village hall when he was shot several times by a man carrying an infant M16 rifle.

The barangay captain was planning to run for vice mayor of Arayat in the 2025 midterm elections.

READ: Village chief shot dead in Pampanga

Lumbang鈥檚 death was one of the incidents mentioned by House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. in a privilege speech last November 2024.

Gonzales called on his colleagues to investigate the recent spate of killings and violence in Pampanga.

The lawmakers represents the third district of the province.

According to the House official, senseless killings have happened in Pampanga from April 30, 2022 up to November 12, 2024 鈥� most of which remain unresolved.

READ: Gonzales seeks probe into spate of killings, violence hounding Pampanga聽

Just this January 4, Gonzales appealed to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to increase police presence in Pampanga, particularly in his district, after another barangay official 鈥� this time from San Fernando City 鈥� received death threats.

The House member said he reported to PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil the death threat to Barangay San Agustin Captain Amando Santos.

READ: PNP urged to increase presence in Pampanga amid threats to officials聽

While he thanked the PNP for immediately taking action, Gonzales said increased police visibility and patrols in his district and other parts of Pampanga would deter violence, especially in view of the coming midterm elections.