FOUR UNDERCOVER soldiers killed by cops in the southern Philippine
province of Sulu had been frequently spotted near the police anti-narcotics
office in the capital town of Jolo.
President Rodrigo Duterte speaks to military commanders at the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City on July 3, 2020. (Robinson Niñal, Jr)
This
was bared by Brigadier General Manuel Abu in an exclusive report by UNTV on
July 3 – the same day President Rodrigo Duterte flew to Zamboanga City and spoke with military commanders in an effort to
defuse a brewing tension between policemen and soldiers following the killing
of 4 army intelligence officers on June 29. The interview can be accessed on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okEV_PL_SMM&feature=youtu.be
Duterte, who looked pale and haggard, arrived Friday night at
the Edwin Andrews Air Base, and appealed to the military to stay calm as he
ordered an investigation into the killings.
According to the army, the soldiers,
all clad in civilian clothes, were driving a car on a covert mission to capture
2 suicide bombers, when policemen intercepted them in Jolo town and ordered the
agents to come with them to the police headquarters so they can verify their
identities.
But the police said cops opened
fire on the soldiers after they sped off and allegedly tried to shoot the lawmen,
an allegation strongly denied by the military.
“Malalim
kasi ang istorya, itong mga pulis ko dito noong Marso 14, may napatay na
involved sa drugs yun DEU natin. It so happen na yun driver noong apat is a
relative nitong napatay,” said Abu.
UNTV
reported that members of the police Drug Enforcement Unit and municipal police
mounted an anti-narcotic operation on March 14 and killed suspected drug pushers
Albasir Bakil Jinul and a man known only by his alias Kayam.
It said Abu Jinul
was a relative of Corporal Abdal Asula, one of the four army soldiers killed in
Jolo. The others were Major Marvin Indammog,
Captain Irwin Managuelod, and Sergeant Jaime Velasco – all assigned with the Intelligence
Service Unit.
However, in was unclear on the UNTV report if the slaying of Jinul was connected to the killings of the soldiers. Police initially said the killing of the soldiers was a
mis-encounter, but later corrected this report and said it was a “shooting”
incident.
Abu
said the car used by the soldiers had been spotted the past days prior to the
shooting incident near the DEU office in Jolo and this prompted the police to
surveil the vehicle. “Tawag nung isang taga-DEU na yun sighted na sasakyan
noong isang araw ay nakita na naman doon sa tapat niya, eh yun tinambayan dati
doon ng mga yun ay DEU personnel din, so natawagan na,” he told UNTV.
Because
of this, he said a team of policemen and DEU personnel arrived on a patrol car
and inspected the car and its passengers, who turned out to be armed and identified
themselves as soldiers. But the soldiers failed to show any identification cards.
“So sabi ng pulis para hindi na lang sila
magtalo doon sa daan, doon na lang sila mag-usap sa istasyon para under
investigation talaga. Pagdating sa may police station imbes na tumigil sila,
nauuna yun sasakyan ng army, eh tumakbo, hinabol ng pulis na nakasakay ng
mobile, mobile naman ang dala ng pulis, eh sila naka-sibilyan,” Abu said.
The
UNTV also showed video clips of the soldiers’ car speeding past the police
station with the patrol car eventually giving a chase. It showed armed
policemen on foot heading to the car that stopped nearby. The next video showed
the soldiers lay dead on the street.
Another
clip showed the arrival of armed soldiers in civilian clothes and one of them
picked up an automatic rifle near one of the slain soldiers. While another soldier opened the car’s door
and inspected the vehicle.
Abu
said: “Baka pakasuhan ko pa sila ng obstruction of justice eh kasi pagka-ganyan
na nay namatay na hindi dapat guluhin yun encounter site, ginulo nila.”
Colonel
Ramon Zagala, an army spokesman, admitted what the soldiers did was wrong.
“Chineck
nila yun pulse kung may buhay and secured the vehicle, so from take down team
to rescue, to recovery at makikita mo rin sa video na parang may bumubukas ng
pinto, at yun bumubukas ng pinto ay brother ng isa namin operative kasi alam
niya na yun brother niya ang driver, so out of his instinct, sini-secure niya
ang gamit ng brother niya,” he said.
The
Western Mindanao Command said the killings were not connected to illegal drugs
and the National Bureau of Investigation is now handling the case. “Wala tayong
makitang any, parang na-involved yun ating mga kasudaluhan, pero anyway lahat
naman yan ay kino-consider ng NBI at wala tayong itatago,” said Major Arvin
Encinas, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
Duterte promised for an impartial investigation, assuring justice for the
slain soldiers.
“Pumunta ako dito hihingi ako ng tulong ninyo. I am
pleading. Nakikiusap ako. Nihangyo ko ninyo na tabangan ko ninyo pagpakalma to
keep the waters in the meantime calm and we wait for the result of the
investigation. I am giving you my word of honor that the investigation will
proceed to find out the truth unfettered, unbridled by anybody except ‘yung sa
trabaho. Walang makialam at ‘yung totoo lang. Iyon ang maasahan ninyo. At kung
sino man ang may kasalanan, then he has to pay for it.”
“What I’m saying is we’re trying to figure out how
we can in the meantime do something to give you the assurance that justice will
be done. So I’m giving it to you, I said, as a word of honor of a President na
I will find out the truth from the investigators and I hope that it would satisfy
all,” he told the military.
Duterte said he was saddened by the incident and
started reminding soldiers all the benefits and increase in salaries he gave
them and ensured the welfare of the police and the military has always been his
top priority since becoming president in 2016. (Zamboanga Post)
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