By: Jim Lloyd Dongiapon
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) XI is expected to hand over today, July 15, all gathered evidence, sworn affidavits, and the autopsy result to the Davao City Prosecutor’s Office after conducting a parallel investigation on the shooting of 19-year-old Amierkhan Mangacop by PNP non-uniformed personnel Dr. Marvin Rey Andrew Pepino.
NBI-XI has found no sufficient basis on the initial reports from the police that Pepino invoked self-defense during the commotion at Lugar Cafe and Bar past midnight of July 2.
They have also concluded that the victim’s group was not involved in the rumble outside the bar since they just went there to fetch their other cousin who was caught in the middle of the initial commotion that happened inside the establishment.
Further, they stated that it was an unlawful aggression on Pepino’s part since the people at the bar, including Amier, were already moving away from the area when the suspect wielded his weapon.
According to their investigation, Amier’s cousin attempted to grab the gun from the suspect after they were held at gunpoint, causing another commotion which led to the shooting of the victim near a police patrol car.
The autopsy report revealed that the victim sustained five gunshot wounds, wherein two slugs hit his spinal cord and another three slugs were recovered from other parts of his cadaver.
Meanwhile, the legal team of the Mangacop clan, led by Atty. Gibb Andrew Cabahug, is yet to give their comment on the results of NBI XI’s investigation on the case.
It could be recalled that the Mangacop clan formally requested the NBI XI on July 8 to conduct a separate probe on the case for they cannot trust the PNP in conducting a fair and impartial investigation since the accused is one of their personnel. They even expressed that it seemed to them that the PNP is lawyering for the suspect based on their previous statements in the media.