All policemen involved in the reported “shootout” in Sulu on Monday that resulted in the killing of four Army soldiers, including two junior officers, have been disarmed as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) begins its probe into the incident.
The disarming of firearms and restriction to quarters of the policemen from the Jolo Municipal Police Station who figured in what the leadership of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region police described as a “misencounter,” was part of the administrative action taken by the police leadership.
Maj. Marvin Indammog, Capt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Jaime Velasco and Cpl. Abdal Asula died after they reportedly tried to engage policemen in a firefight on Monday afternoon near the headquarters of the Jolo police station, as claimed by the police in an initial report.
The Army, which will transport to Manila three of the bodies, however, belied the claims of the police, saying the soldiers were shot in cold blood by the policemen, whose identities the Philippine National Police did not provide.
Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay was reportedly “enraged” by the incident and demanded for a full-blown investigation by the NBI. His call was joined by other military officials, including Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana.
Gapay and Sobejana said that the four soldiers, who were in civilian clothes and riding a sport-utility vehicle, were on an official intelligence mission against members of a terrorist group and bomb makers in Sulu’s capital.
Reports about the events that led to the death of the four soldiers were, however, conflicting.
The police said the vehicle bearing the soldiers was flagged down by the policemen for which the Army members identified themselves as military personnel. The four were told to proceed to the police station for proper verification.
The police claimed that the vehicle, upon reaching the police station, sped away, prompting the policemen to chase it that led to a shootout.
Another report said that the vehicle stopped not far away from the police station, wherein Indammog alighted with a gun to the policemen, which prompted them to open fire.
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana described the death of the four soldiers as “very unfortunate” and could not comment pending the investigation of the NBI.
“The reports that are coming in are very hazy,” he said on Monday night.
Gapay said the four soldiers were part of a military intelligence team under the 11th Infantry Division that were “hot on the trail of Abu Sayyaf members, bomb makers, and suicide bombers in Sulu province.”
“They were flagged down by personnel of Jolo Municipal Police Station who were manning a checkpoint in Jolo town proper. Even after properly identifying themselves, the police personnel approached and fired upon them for still unknown reasons,” the Army chief said.
“The commanding general, Philippine Army is enraged and demands that a full-blown investigation must be conducted on the death of four soldiers from the hands of PNP forces,” Army spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala said in a news statement.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region police, through its commander Brig. Gen. Manuel Abu, assured it will extend its full administrative and operational support to the NBI “to ensure impartiality and to help establish the truth behind this unfortunate incident.”
The PNP leadership said it was condoling with the “family and colleagues of two Philippine Army officers and two enlisted men who died in the unfortunate incident of a misencounter with PNP personnel in Jolo, Sulu.”
“The PNP and AFP officials in Sulu have agreed that the National Bureau of Investigation Regional Office in Zamboanga City will conduct and lead the investigation to ensure impartiality and to eliminate any suspicion of undue influence,” it said in a news statement.
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson called for a “speedy but thorough” determination of the facts and circumstances that led to the tragic shooting of the four Army men.
“It is wise and proper that both Philippine National Police Chief P/Gen. Archie Gamboa and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Felimon Santos Jr. have agreed that the National Bureau of Investigation take full control of the criminal investigation, and allow the evidence to dictate the findings,” Lacson said in a news statement.
“But the NBI’s investigation results notwithstanding, and more than making fully accountable all those responsible for the incident, the ground commanders of both sides must be in full control of the situation to avoid an escalation of the situation,” he added.
“Our security forces already have their hands full in their fight against their common adversaries such as terrorism and insurgency in Mindanao,” he added. “ Allowing disunity in any form would give the enemy an unwanted advantage that could prove fatal for our nation.”