25 Filipino police charged with murder in shootout (9:09 p.m.)

MANILA— Prosecutors have filed murder charges against 25 policemen who allegedly pumped 80 bullets into a van carrying a man and his 7-year-old daughter while chasing suspected robbers two years ago, officials said Friday.

Police officers in the Philippines are rarely convicted despite frequent complaints that they are quick on the trigger in a country where crime is rampant and guns easily available.

The Justice Department said it found probable cause to indict the 25 officers in the death of Alfonso de Vera, 53, and his daughter after witnesses testified that police indiscriminately fired at the van without determining who was inside.

The officers were chasing suspected bank robbers in a Manila residential area in December 2008 when they strafed de Vera's van with 80 bullets, the indictment said.

When de Vera left the vehicle with his fatally wounded daughter, the policemen followed and shot him in the head, the Justice Department said. The policemen have said the civilians were caught in the crossfire with the suspected robbers.

All 12 suspected robbers were also killed, along with a policeman and another civilian. The metropolitan Manila police chief at the time, Leopoldo Bataoil, described the shootout as the bloodiest in recent memory.

The independent Commission on Human Rights said in January that police not only displayed incompetence but also showed "blatant disregard for standard operating procedures, brazen police brutality and reckless disregard for human rights."

The National Police Commission concluded that the officers violated rules of engagement and failed to protect civilians. (AP)