By Felipe V. Celino
ROXAS CITY, Capiz – Police in Capiz including, the Tapaz Municipal Police Station, had no direct participation in the deadly Rizal Day raids last December 30, 2020.
“We (Capiz Police) have no direct participation in serving search warrants to those who died and caught the alleged members of CPP-NPA including the members of Tapaz Municipal Police Station and Capiz Provincial Police Office,” said Capiz Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Provincial Director Col. Julio Gustilo Jr.
According to Gustilo, their only role in the operation was to secure the area. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group led the serving of search warrants against 28 persons in Tapaz and in Calinog, Iloilo. The raids led to the deaths of nine persons, mostly members of the indigenous people’s group Tumandok in Central Panay.
The CIDG claimed that the subjects of the raids were suspected members and supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA). Gustilo made it clear that other units of the PNP were the ones that raided the subjects in the hinterland villages of Tapaz, not the Capiz police.
Gustilo added that he himself didn’t expect that nine people will be killed in the operations. On the other hand, the Capiz PNP expressed sympathy to the families of the fatalities. Gustilo said the police are ready to transport the remains of the civilians that were killed in Tapaz operations.
The provincial director noticed the fear and trauma of the residents brought by the alleged botched operations upon seeing the presence of the police in the villages. But he assured the residents that no similar incidents would be happen again in the areas as the presence of the police are part of the preventive security patrol of the government for the safety of the residents.
