On May 18, 1995, the Kuratong Baleleng crime syndicate clashed with the members of the Philippine Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), resulting in the deaths of several syndicate members.[1][2]
The Kuratong Baleleng is a crime syndicate known for major bank robberies in the Metro Manila. It was one of the top monitored syndicates of the Anti-Bank Robbery Task Force.[3]
On May 18, 1995, the syndicate was spotted by the task force in a van and were pursued. A shootout occurred while the syndicate passed a road in Quezon City in the early morning until they reached Commonwealth Avenue, where they clashed with the police officers.[4][5] In a press conference, Police Director General Recaredo Sarmiento said that the police officers had only intercepted the syndicate when they were routing to their hideout; the policemen involved did not sustain any injuries.[3]
After the clash, the police recovered four ArmaLite rifles, 210 ammunition rounds, and P380,000 cash.[1] Later, Wilson Soronda, the leader of the syndicate, as well as his money handler (his sister Gemma Siplon),[1] were found in Pasig and Laguna, respectively. Both members were arrested on May 17.[6]
Immediate investigation
The following day, a headline by Armando Capili was released about the incident, who had seen the crime scene. The article reported that some of the bodies of the syndicate members had been handcuffed behind their backs, and some police officers put two ArmaLites inside the van full of bullet holes.[6]
Capili's headline article didn't gain more attention until May 21 when SPO2 Eduardo de los Reyes came forward to ABS-CBN with an insight to the story that contradicted the official report and affirmed that police had actually executed the bank robbers.[5][6][7] Also, due to money involved in the case (Kuratong's robbed money), rumors spread that it had been a police-operated money heist for the PACC chairman and then-Vice PresidentJoseph Estrada.[1]
After the CHR received a statement against the police officers on May 26, Acting Ombudsman Francisco Villa directed his deputy Manuel Casaclang to monitor the investigation process started by the Commission of Human Rights (CHR), the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights (led by Raul Roco), and the PNP's Directorate for Investigation.[6] After three days, Cascalang sent requests to Roco and to CHR chairman for related documents. The CHR formalized the document the next day.[7]
The same day, SPO2 Corazon de la Cruz appeared and testified before the Joint Senate Committee conducting a legislative inquiry, confirming and reaffirming the statement of SPO2 de los Reyes that there was no shootout but rather a massacre or a rubout.[6][7] The two police officers stated that they arrested eight men the day before the incident at the Kuratong hideout in Las Piñas' Superville Subdivision, after which they housed them in Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the PNP. When they loaded them in a van, they included two other suspects; one of them was unrelated to the syndicate and unknown crimes. The van went then through Commonwealth Avenue (the road/place of the incident), and all of them died.[6][8]
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported that there were policemen who raided the Superville and Alabang subdivisions, looting the syndicate's robbed money. They identified that eight were taken from Superville, while the ninth man and the tenth (Gemma's Siplon's husband) from Alabang were handcuffed, blindfolded, and driven into Camp Crame. She was pulled out and an eleventh male (the one with the unknown crime) got a ride to Commonwealth Avenue.[1][8]
A joint inquiry by the Senate committees on Public Order (led by Ernesto Maceda), Justice and Human Rights (led by Roco), and National Defense and Security (led by Orly Mercado) concluded that the victims killed at the scene were unarmed, while some people were killed while in police custody. They suggested that Chief Superintendents Lacson (Task Force Habagat chief), Canson, Acop, Zubia, and 15 other officers face murder or homicide charges.[1][6]
After Desierto was appointed, police also ceased to oppose the preliminary probe. Prosecutor Leonardo Tamayo originally proposed a 98-person indictment, but Desierto dismissed Tamayo's indictment and instead formed a group of detectives that suggested reducing the indictment to 26 but still specifying Lacson as the principal and other senior officials as accomplices.[6]
While standing trial before Sandiganbayan, the accused, mainly Lacson, requested a second Ombudsman probe. Although private prosecutors protested, the Ombudsman's legal team approved.[11]
In December 1995, SPO2 de los Reyes stated that a businessman had offered him P5 million to go slow against Lacson. He was tasked to read scripted answers to questions asked in hearings in order to downgrade charges against Lacson. Two lawyers stood on behalf of Lacson twice. In 1996 February, the hearing for the case was held. Despite the insistence of de los Reyes' accounts, the Ombudsman dismissed the accusation.[6][11]
Lacson also contested the Sandiganbayan's involvement in handling the case in 1999, as no higher official than a senior superintendent (police colonel) was charged as a principal. Sandiganbayan no longer had jurisdiction over the case.[11] Many congressmen and senators looked into the receipt of 10 television sets from the businessman that De los Reyes had accused of trying to bribe him.[6]
Lacson became PNP chief from 1999 until January 20, 2001, then retired officially in March 2001 in order to run for the senate. But when March 2001 came, three police officers surfaced to affirm the testimonies of the five witnesses. Police Inspector Ysmael Yu, now a SAF commando, stated in his sworn statement that he led an assault team at Superville on the night of May 17, 1995, because Canson dropped the orders, and he was briefed by Lacson, Acop, and Zubia. Also, he stated that the eight men arrested in the said subdivision that there were no fights against policemen or even a shootout.[8]
Police Inspector Abelardo Ramos said that he and another policeman were assigned at the time with Zubia's Traffic Management Group. They were tasked with perimeter security and surveillance for the assault team. Like Inspector Yu, they are also briefed by those police officials after they had escorted the eight men to Camp Crame. Ramos and another policeman drove the ten handcuffed men to Commonwealth Avenue. Yu and Ramos' affidavits were endorsed by then-PNP Chief Leandro Mendoza.[8]
Chief superintendent Reynaldo Berroya, Lacson's former colleague turned enemy, along with the Reform the PNP Movement, pushed the case revival in 2001.[12] Upon a motion by Lacson, the criminal cases were remanded to the Ombudsman for reinvestigation. Subsequently, his participation in the crime was downgraded from principal to accessory. He pled not guilty when arraigned in 2002.[8][10][13][14]
The special prosecuting team of Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), led by Jose Manuel Diokno, responded and later asked the High Tribunal to remand the case once more to the trial court in order to present new evidence against Lacson inter alia. On May 2, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines approved Diokno's appeal, thereby reopening the case to prosecute implicated officers.[15][16]
On November 12, 2003, Judge Theresa Yadao of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 81 junked the murder case against Lacson and other police officials for lack of probable cause. On December 5, 2012, the Supreme Court (SC) reaffirmed the 2003 court decision by vote of 14–0 even with Antonio Carpio inhibited.[17][18][19] The finality of the SC ruling occurred on March 4, 2013.[20][21]
Related Research Articles
Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. is a Filipino former politician and police general who served as a senator for three terms: from 2001 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2022. He was the Director General of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2001, and was a candidate in the 2004 and 2022 Philippine presidential elections.
The Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a population in excess of 100 million.
Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr., better known as Jinggoy Estrada or Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, is a Filipino politician and film actor serving as a senator since 2022 and previously from 2004 to 2016, He is the current president pro tempore of the Senate, having been elected for the second time in 2024 and previously holding the position from 2007 to 2013, He briefly became the Acting Senate President in 2013 after Juan Ponce Enrile's resignation, Before serving in the Senate, he was the vice mayor (1988–1992) and later mayor (1992–2001) of San Juan when it was still a municipality.
The May 1 riots, or EDSA III, were protests sparked by the arrest of newly deposed president Joseph Estrada of the Philippines from April 25 to May 1, 2001. The protest was held for 7 days on a major highway in Metro Manila, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), which eventually culminated in an attempt to storm the Malacañang Palace.
The Dacer–Corbito double murder case is one of the unsolved murders occurred in the Philippines during the administration of Joseph Estrada.
The Philippine Constabulary (PC) Metropolitan Command or MetroCom was created pursuant to Executive Order of President Ferdinand Marcos on July 14, 1967, to supplement police forces within the Greater Manila Area and combat all forms of criminal activity.
The Euro Generals Scandal involves Eliseo de la Paz and several Philippine National Police (PNP) officials who went to Russia in October 2008 to attend an Interpol conference. De la Paz was detained for carrying a large sum of undeclared money.
1995 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1995.
Romeo Macusi Acop is a Filipino former police officer and politician who served as Representative for Antipolo's 2nd District from 2010 to 2019, and again in 2022.
Kuratong Baleleng is an organized crime syndicate in the Philippines that was once an anti-communist, vigilante group. Considered to be one of the largest syndicates in the country, Kuratong Baleleng received nationwide attention due to their alleged end in a shootout with the Philippine National Police in May 1995 in Quezon City. Since then, the syndicate has scattered throughout different provinces, with some members garnering political positions.
Rolando Rosal Espinosa Sr., the mayor of Albuera, Leyte, died on November 5, 2016, at the Baybay City Provincial Jail. He was detained at the jail due to his arrest for illegal drug possession in October 2016. According to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Espinosa was killed during a shootout that he initiated when the CIDG came to the jail to serve him a search warrant. Espinosa's death occurred amid allegations that he was involved in the drug trade by President Rodrigo Duterte, who initiated the Philippine Drug War intending to kill criminals using or distributing drugs. The Commission on Human Rights and Karapatan have held Duterte accountable for Espinosa's death, with Senate condemning the death as an instance of extrajudicial killing.
At dawn of Sunday, July 30, 2017, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Ozamiz City police conducted a simultaneous raid in the house of the Parojinogs in Ozamiz and other associated properties, leaving 15 persons killed, including incumbent Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and his wife. Another member of the Parojinog family died in the hospital three days after the raid. Parojinog is the third mayor to be killed during the course of country's war on drugs after Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte eight months prior and Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan, Maguindanao nine months prior.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is a regional unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) that has jurisdiction over Metro Manila, also known as the National Capital Region. It is headquartered in Camp Bagong Diwa.
The Highway Patrol Group is a police unit under the Philippine National Police (PNP) who supervises traffic-related crimes and its management.
Avelino "Sonny" Ignacio Razon Jr. is a Filipino former police officer and politician who served as Chief of the Philippine National Police.
The 2004 presidential campaign of Panfilo Lacson was launched when he filed his certificate of candidacy on December 29, 2003. That time, Lacson is only in the half of his first term as a Senator, and three years ago, he is the former chief of the Philippine National Police.
Ret. PMGen. Reynaldo "Rey" Ignacio Berroya was a Filipino retired police officer who served as the Administrator of the Light Rail Transit Authority.
Ping Lacson: Super Cop is a 2000 Philippine biographical action film directed by Toto Natividad, starring Rudy Fernandez. Fernandez played the then-PNP Chief Panfilo "Ping" Lacson's life and police career. The movie was an official entry for the 2000 Metro Manila Film Festival.
Francisco Zubia Jr. is a retired police general and politician.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
