Año seeks NBI probe of teen’s slay

MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the police anti-drug operation that left a 16-year-old boy and his companion dead in Biñan, Laguna.

Año said having an independent probe by the NBI on the deaths of teenager Johndy Maglinte and Antonio Dalit would help the Philippine National Police (PNP) conduct its own investigation of the incident.

“We are encouraging other agencies like the NBI to investigate the case to erase public doubt that the incident violated human rights,” Año said.

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar has placed under restricted custody the 10 police officers who took part in the operation.

Maglinte’s family denied police claims that their relative and Dalit resisted arrest, saying the victims were handcuffed and pleading for their life when they were killed in Barangay Canlalay.

Eleazar gave assurance that operational lapses committed by police officers in anti-criminality operations would be promptly addressed.

“We constantly review our protocols to check if these still fit the kind of setting we have today, or if there are adjustments or changes that need to be made,” Eleazar said in a statement.

“This is the reason why thousands of police officers who committed grave abuses have been dismissed from the service,” he said.