By Jennifer P. Rendon
Someone will be held liable for the vehicular incident in Alimodian, Iloilo that kvilled four policemen and injured 26 others.
This was the result of the initial investigation by the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD).
Police Colonel Pablito Asmod, RIDMD chief, said on March 4, 2020 that they’re still drafting the investigation report for submission to the Office of the Regional Director, Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan.
The report is expected to be on Pamuspusan’s table this week.
Asmod said he could not ascertain the specific liability of those who would be held responsible.
However, “for sure, may manabat kay may ara responsibility ang isa kag isa sa ila nga natawag,” he said.
(For sure, somebody will be held accountable because each one of them has a so-called responsibility.)
On March 2, two days after the incident, Asmod said he formed a team led by his deputy chief to conduct an investigation, especially on the lapses committed by officers or other personnel who are involved in the incident.
The team proceeded Alimodian, the base of the 30 members of the 601st Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RFMB), to gather all the materials to be considered in the investigation.
Asmod said that all angles considered, it could not be denied that somebody must be held responsible.
He said they could have unloaded the passengers for the driver to easily navigate the uphill portion.
“Automatically, for our officers, it’s command responsibility. Indi sila kahalin da. We will find out the extent of their command responsibility – from the battalion commander to the direct responsibility of the company commander of the 601st RFMB Company. The will also be probed for his possible liability,” he said.
For now, Asmod said he could not name the specific liability of the commanders.
Human error or mechanical trouble?
While he was certain of lapses, Asmod said he could not ascertain if the incident was a product of human error or mechanical trouble or both.
That’s why, Asmod said part of their investigation was to recommend an expert on automobile mechanism to determine whether there is actually a mechanical error on the vehicle.
“But we’re also not denying the fact that there’s a certain portion of our investigation that indicates human error,” he said.
Initial investigation revealed that the vehicle, an Isuzu dump truck of the Alimodian local government unit (LGU), had been borrowed by the said police unit in numerous instances already.
“Our team of investigators learned that the vehicle was okay and had, in fact, maneuvered the uphill portion of Barangay Ginomoy (the village where the incident happened),” he said.
Yet again, Asmod said they could not determine what went wrong because they need an expert opinion on why the vehicle’s engine died as it was navigating the uphill road.
The vehicle went on the reverse and plunged into a deep and rugged ravine.
Policemen who were declared out-patients claimed that the incident was so sudden that their reaction was to duck because they could not just jump off the truck.
Asmod debunked reports that it was the first time of Patrolman Francis Prudente to drive the truck.
“He’s been driving it according to our investigation and that of the Alimodian Police Station,” he said.
Asmod said he doesn’t see a specific rule violated with the use of an LGU vehicle.
“Sometimes, it’s the judgment call of the commander. If they have no other vehicle, I think they could request,” he said.
It was gathered that the troops borrowed an LGU-owned dump truck after their prophylactic patrol.
But the said practice had been reportedly going on for two years already.
What piqued Pamuspusan was the fact that the RMFB had received a Hino 500 utility truck recently.
They were the only unit that was provided with the said vehicle last week during the 29th PNP Foundation Day celebration.
