Tabuk City, Kalinga - Tabuk City social media is in uproar today as video footages showing police officers forcing themselves into a house with a woman crying and shouting preventing their entry are circulated along with a post denouncing the act of the police.
According to the story, it was Saturday night, December 5, 2020, when there were gunshots fired in Dagupan Centro which prompted people to call the police to investigate the matter as this might cause gun-related injury.
When the police responded to the call and went to the incident site, they were pointed to a house. A person told the police that the said house is where the person who was accused of firing the gun was at. The search immediately followed and the gun was recovered.
However, allegations came out, questioning the actions of the police officers after a family member claimed on Facebook about unlawful acts done by the uniformed personnel who responded to the scene.
But what really happened? Here are the two sides of the story.
Family Member's account of the story
In a Facebook post, a family member of the house which the police searched said that on Saturday night, police officers were shouting outside their house on the street. After a few minutes, two of them were already inside their gate and by their window. The police allegedly were fuming, accusing them of firing the gun.
She said, there were five of them in the house – she, her older sister, younger brother, and two minors whom she claimed were frightened by the loud voices of the police. She added the police wanted to enter their house, but they first asked for a search warrant for them to allow the personnel to enter.
“They wanted to enter the house, so we asked them that if they want to search, they need to obtain a search warrant before we are going to allow the same,” the post said.
The post further said that the police were able to enter by climbing up a post connected to their terrace. They kicked the door and pointed their gun to the people they saw. When her younger brother shouted ‘trespassing’, the police was ready to handcuff him but was freed when they resisted.
"After more than twenty minutes with the police officers insisting that they will pick up my brother, one of the boarders in the house just admitted that he was the one who did it, kasi ayaw na niyang makita ang mga nag iiyakan, sige pa rin. Gusto pa rin kunin kapatid ko at pati daw ako and every guy they saw in the house."
Moreover, said family member alleged to have been pulled and pushed by an officer.
Below is the added statement of the family member, whose house was entered into by the police.
"I have so much respect and appreciation towards our police officers, but I strongly condemned what the involved police officers did in our home. They did not just violate our rights, but they also treated as inhumanely. My brother and one of the boarders were just inside our house when the police officers illegally barged in and tried to handcuff my brother because he told them that they were trespassing. Most of the occupants are minors, but still, they used forced and did not follow the proper procedure in conducting the search in the room of a little girl who was trembling and crying at that time. I hope that our awful experience will not be experienced by others. I also pray that police officers shall at all times abide by the letter and spirit of our Constitution and laws so that an incident like this will not happen again. We will file an appropriate action regarding the matter."
In a phone interview with Kalinga Police Provincial Director PCol. Davy Vicente Limmong, he pointed that it is a hot pursuit operation and that there was no need for a search warrant for this kind of operation.
He stressed that the responding personnel were looking for a person with a gun, and by this fact they cannot just relax since their lives were at stake, too.
“It’s a normal police operation and it’s a normal police reaction sa mga ganong sitwasyon dahil considering na danger yung haharapin nila. We have previous cases wherein tayo yung natatamaan, yung mga pulis natin namamatay because of being relaxed. Sometimes they have to be a little bit aggressive, ayaw naman nilang magpauna,” he explained.
He added that the police won’t have to use force had they only cooperated and surrendered the suspect.
Additionally, Limmong narrated that the neighbours were the ones who pointed the house of the suspect and there were also empty shells of bullets found.
“’Yon na mismo, they have knowledge na siya nga yung nagpaputok at tinuturo naman so, pinasok na nila,” he said.
Moreover, the suspect turned himself in and admitted to be behind the firing. Also, a Caliber 45 gun was recovered from him.
The Kalinga Police Provincial Director said the family members can always file a complaint. He further affirmed that the police was just doing their job, it is nothing personal.
“Haan na aramiden daytoy nu haan na nga trabaho. So it is not personal,” he said.
Editor's note: This article was updated on 12/08/2020 to accomodate additional statements of the family member whose house was entered into by the police in search of the man who fired gunshots on the weekend.
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