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Thread: Cops who killed soldiers in Sulu ?misencounter? shooting disarmed, under restrictive custody (Philippines)

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    Post Cops who killed soldiers in Sulu ?misencounter? shooting disarmed, under restrictive custody (Philippines)

    https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/...rs-police.html

    Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said Wednesday that based on their analysis of reports on the ground, the soldiers did not fire a single shot at the police. The PNP is now calling it a shooting incident, involving nine policemen.

    ?Nakita natin na wala namang paggamit o pagpapaputok ng baril mula sa mga namatay na sundalo. Nakalagay lang doon ay umamba umano, umamba,? Banac told reporters.

    [Translation: We saw that there was no use or firing of guns from the soldiers who died. The reports only said they threatened to do so.]

    Banac added that the local police may have failed to preserve the crime scene, and that the Jolo Municipal Police Station would be held liable if this is proven.

    President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to speed up its investigation. He also sought a meeting with the nine cops tagged in the incident, said his spokesman, Harry Roque.

    The PNP-Internal Affairs Service is conducting its own probe with the National Police Commission. This would ensure an impartial investigation and prevent any biases, PNP-IAS chief Alfegar Triambulo said.

    Four Army officers were killed in a police operation in Jolo, Sulu on Monday. They are Maj. Marvin Indammog, Cpt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Jaime Velasco, and Cpl. Abdal Asula -- all from the Army?s 9th Intelligence Service Unit of the 11th Infantry Division.

    Initial reports from the Sulu Provincial Police Office said the cops involved claimed self-defense, after the soldiers supposedly lifted and pointed their firearms first at the police. But Army Chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said it was a rubout and his men were "murdered" by the police personnel.

    In a statement on Wednesday, Gapay said the incident will not affect the ?harmonious working relationship? between the police and military, and vowed to revisit protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.
    https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020...-shooting.html

    Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 30)? The police personnel involved in the killing of four Army intelligence officers in Jolo, Sulu have been disarmed and placed under restrictive custody, the Philippine National Police said Tuesday.

    PNP Spokesperson Bernard Banac told CNN Philippines that the policemen involved in Monday?s fatal incident ? which he had called a ?misencounter?? are ready to face investigation.

    ?We are committed to find out the truth and serve justice to the families of the slain officers and soldiers? they have been disarmed already to face the investigation,? Banac said in an interview with The Source.

    Both the PNP and AFP have agreed to seek the National Bureau of Investigation?s help for a separate, impartial probe, after both parties provided conflicting versions of the incident.

    Initial reports from the Sulu Provincial Police Office said the personnel involved claimed self-defense, after the soldiers supposedly lifted and pointed their firearms first to the police.

    The report added that the incident occurred when the soldiers allegedly tried to flee the police station after they were brought in for questioning.

    The Army, however, refuted the claims, calling the initial police report as ?fabricated? and ?misleading.?

    Army Spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala Jr. maintained that the troops could not have engaged the policemen in a firefight as they had "properly coordinated and identified themselves" as soldiers.

    Armed Forces of the Philippines Spokesperson Edgard Arevalo also denied the troops tried to leave the police station.

    ?I would surmise na wala naman silang masamang intention dito (they did not have an intention to harm), they moved a little further from the exact spot of the station of the PNP,? Arevalo told CNN Philippines.

    As of publishing, the PNP has yet to report the number of policemen involved in the incident.

    The NBI?s regional office in Zamboanga that is handling the probe was given 10 days to submit its initial report, according to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

    ?Don?t blow things out of proportion?
    The AFP urged the public not to blow things out of proportion, saying the agency continues to work well with the PNP in strengthening the country?s response against terrorism and the COVID-19 pandemic.

    ?Ang gusto po ng dalawang lider ng AFP at PNP, ay huwag na nating palakihin itong insidenteng ito,? Arevalo said.

    [Translation: What the AFP and PNP leaders would want is to not make a big deal out of this incident.]

    Senator Ronald ?Bato? Dela Rosa? who has previously served as chief PNP? also urged ground commanders from both sides to ?diffuse tensions and prevent it from escalating? pending results of the probe.

    Malaca?ang meanwhile refused to comment further on the incident, as it also awaits results of the investigation. President Rodrigo Duterte may visit the wake of the soldiers, his spokesperson Harry Roque said, but he gave no other details.

    Remains of the slain army personnel were flown to Manila on Tuesday afternoon.

    Not the first time
    Monday's incident was not the first ?misencounter? among government security forces.

    In 2002, Sulu police figured in an ?accidental firefight? with members of the Philippine Marines in Jolo, which also resulted in the deaths of some civilians.

    Some members of the Army also faced investigation in 2018 following a supposed misencounter with six policemen in Sta. Rita town in Samar.

    READ: Soldiers apologize for cops' deaths in Samar 'misencounter'

    The PNP, for its part, vowed to implement protocols and measures? including proper coordination and communication with AFP counterparts? to ensure that the incident will not happen again.

    ?This thing could have been prevented, this is a very big lesson to us. We?ll take this very seriously so that this won?t happen again,? Banac said.

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    https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/02/...ng-ragos-death

    MANILA - Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Thursday urged the Senate to investigate two incidents where police gunned down former and current military officials, saying these have led to a decrease in trust in the Philippine National Police (PNP).

    In Senate Resolution No. 460, Hontiveros cited the police shooting of 4 soldiers in Jolo town, Sulu on Monday while the Army intelligence operatives were going after terrorists, and the case of a former military official who was suffering from mental illness shot dead in Quezon City in April.

    Army seeks NBI help in probe of Ragos shooting
    "Hindi puwedeng trigger-happy ang ating kapulisan," the senator said in a statement.

    The incidents show a "disturbing pattern of police behavior," she said.

    "Extensive reform has to be done to restore the public's trust in our institutions," said Hontiveros, whose late husband was a police officer.

    "Dapat maintindihan ng kapulisan na ang mga pagpatay na ito ay nakakadagdag lang ng takot sa mga tao, at mas lalong nakakabawas ng tiwala," she said.

    (The police should understand that these killings fuel people's fear and diminish trust.)

    Military officials have decried the killing of 4 soldiers near a checkpoint in Sulu, noting that around 9 policemen fired at the intelligence operatives before fleeing the scene.

    Police claimed the soldiers drew their guns and called it a "misencounter, but the Army said they were unarmed, with its commanding general calling the shooting a "rubout."

    Opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan earlier issued a similar appeal for the Senate to look into the police-linked killing.

    "This incident is disturbing because it appears that the police are quick in pulling the trigger without careful judgment. If they can do this to their fellow uniformed men, how much more to the ordinary civilians who are unarmed and defenseless?" Pangilinan said.

    Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former police chief, earlier urged Philippine Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay to "temper" his emotions over the death of his men, saying terrorists and other enemies of the state could "exploit" the issue.

    Temper emotions over police killing of 4 soldiers, Lacson tells military
    Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, also a former police chief, told reporters that his committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs would tackle the issue once Hontiveros' resolution is referred to the panel.

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