THE PHILIPPINES. 2 VALENZUELA POLICEMEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING FELLOW OFFICER

two Valenzuela City policemen were sentenced to die by lethal injection in the Philippines after a Manila City court found them guilty of killing a fellow officer inside a police community precinct in 1996. Judge Luis Arranz ordered the two accused — Senior Police Officer (SPO) Alfredo Alawig and SPO Enrique Dabu — to jointly pay the family of victim police officer Miel de Ocampo Café, 27, a total of P450,000. Three other accused in the case, precinct commander SPO Ponciano Miraples, officer Armando de Vera and officer Vivencio Corpuz remained at large.
Café and all of the accused belonged to the same police station at Doña Ata Subdivision in Marulas, Valenzuela.
Records showed that in 1996, the victim and the suspects recovered some 15 kilos of the drug ‘shabu’ from a Taiwanese national. However, upon verification in court, Café was surprised to learn that only 20 grams of the illegal substance had been turned over.
The discovery of the irregularity earned for Café the ire of some members of the Valenzuela police. At noon on November 30, 1996, the five suspects, excluding station commander Miraples, went to the victim’s house and told him to get dressed because they had a an anti drug operation to take care of.
Alawig, one of the condemned who took the witness stand for the defence, said they were instructed to proceed to the subdivision because of reports of drug pushing in the area. Upon arriving at the station, Alawig said he saw Café having a heated argument with officer Ventinilla, who had since deceased. He allegedly saw the victim pointing his Armalite at Ventinilla, who parried the rifle then kicked a table toward Café, causing him to fall on his knees. Café allegedly fired his rifle once. The suspect returned fire and hit him. "Unfortunately, Ventinilla is already dead." Thus, his lips are sealed forever and therefore no longer capable to refute or deny the imputations made against him," the court said, adding that it found several contradictory statements from the suspects.
There were also signs of alterations in the dispatch logbook and tampering of the evidence at the crime scene to make it look like the victim had became violent, which justified the killing, Arranz said.
Tests showed Café tested negative for powder burns, despite Alawig’s claim that he saw the victim fire his rifle.