Año orders cops in Jolo ‘misencounter’ disarmed, taken into custody

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday ordered the police officers involved in the killing of four soldiers in Sulu's Jolo town disarmed and placed under the custody of the Sulu Provincial Police Director.

“I already gave instructions to Police General Archie Gamboa to disarm the policemen involved, restrict them under the custody of the Sulu Provincial Director. They will be investigated by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and I will request a parallel investigation by the [National Bureau of Investigation],” said Año.

The Interior Secretary also urged NBI to “leave no stone unturned” in their investigation into the alleged misencounter between the police and the military.

Año characterized the killings as “very unfortunate” and that the incident “should have not happened.”

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been working closely in the fight against the terrorists. I want to know what really happened and no stone must be left unturned,” he said.

According to an initial report from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Philippine National Police, Jolo Municipal Police Station (MPS) and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit police officers were on patrol in Barangay Bus-Bus when they spotted four armed men board a gray SUV in Sitio Marina, Barangay Walled at around 2:40 p.m. on Monday, June 29.

When confronted by the PNP team, the men introduced themselves as AFP servicemen. They were then directed to proceed to Jolo MPS for verification.

But when they arrived at the station, the policemen claimed that the soldiers fled toward Martirez, Barangay San Raymundo.

The police officers gave chase, after which the soldier allegedly disembarked from their vehicle and pointed their firearms at the policemen.

It was at this point that the police unit gunned down the four soldiers.

The report added the local investigators had yet to find any motive for the shooting. A team from the Scene of the Crime Operatives was processing the scene.

Following the incident, Western Mindanao Command commander Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana said he had asked the NBI to look into the death of the four soldiers following the misencounter. He also insisted the four men were on an official mission.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also called the incident “very unfortunate” but did not elaborate further. — DVM, GMA News