2 Makati courts order arrest of HPG member for motorist slay

HPG members PO2 Jonjie Manon-og (left) and PO3 Jeremiah De Villa submit themselves to an NBI investigation on Friday. Marianne Bermudez

Two Makati courts have ordered the arrest of a member of the Highway Patrol Group involved in the death of motorcyclist John Dela Riarte.

Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 145 Judge Carlito B. Calpatura has ordered the arrest of Police Officer 1 Jonjie M. Manon-og for murder while Makati RTC Branch 138 Judge Josefino A. Subia ordered his arrest for robbery.

Dela Riarte was arrested last July 29 by two HPG members after he figured in a road altercation with another motorist, Eric Fajardo, in Makati City.

He was handcuffed and taken to the HPG headquarters in Camp Crame but was shot along the way.

The NBI, in its letter complaint submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) said examination showed that the cause of death of the victim was multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen and right thigh. The National Bureau of Investigation findings are also consistent with the autopsy report of the Public Attorneys Office (PAO) Forensic Laboratory.

The DOJ, in filing the murder case against Manon-og said the killing of Dela Riarte “was attended with abuse of superior strength.”

“At the time of the shooting, John was handcuffed inside the mobile car together with the two respondents who were both armed with sidearms,” the DOJ resolution stated.

Based on the forensic examination conducted by PAO, one of the five bullet wounds, specifically, the one in the left chest was “hard pressed,” meaning the muzzle of the gun was closely pressed in the victim’s chest.

“With this in mind, we can safely conclude that the gun [belongs to] Manon-og considering his proximity with the left chest of John who was seated at the left side of Manon-og,” the DOJ stated.

On the other hand, Manon-og was charged with robbery based on testimonial, documentary and audio-visual evidence. The same resolution noted that Manon-og’s only defense was denial.

According to his relatives, Dela Riarte was carrying P30,000 cash during the incident.

Manon-og’s co-respondent, Police Officer 3 Jeremiah De Villa died after jumping off the roof of a building at Camp Crame last August 2016. –Tetch Torres-Tupas , CDG

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