Justice Vowed For Four Soldiers As Videos, Photos, Eyewitnesses ‘Belie’ Shootout With Police

For the second time in months, emotions and tensions ran high between the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police over the deaths of four more soldiers at the hands of PNP members.

Maj. Marvin Indammog, 39; Capt. Irwin Managuelod, 33; Sgt. Jaime Velasco, 38, and Cpl. Abdal Asula, 33, died just outside the Jolo Municipal Police Station after what police initially described as a “misencounter” with police forces in Sulu’s capital on Monday, June 29.

Initial reports said the four soldiers were in a gray sport utility vehicle when they were pulled over by policemen at a checkpoint. They identified themselves as members of the military, but because they were in civilian clothes, they were asked to go to the police station for verification of their identities.

The Army said the four were conducting intelligence operations against suspected terrorist suicide bombers.

The police report said the soldiers drove away toward Barangay San Raymundo, prompting the police to chase the vehicle. When the police caught up with the SUV, the four allegedly drew out guns. Police said a shootout ensued.

This, however, was denied by several eyewitnesses, according to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, whose department has jurisdiction over the PNP.

Año, a former military chief of staff, said eyewitnesses had told authorities that it was a rubout and not a shootout as the soldiers were not carrying firearms.

The PNP has backpedaled and now calls the “misencounter” a simple shooting incident. It said it is standing by the initial police report that the soldiers were brandishing their firearms, which supposedly led to the shooting.

Año said the municipal police chief of Jolo, Lt. Col. Walter Annayo, was sacked from his post on Wednesday, or two days after the incident.  Annayo was replaced by Lt. Col. Filmore Calib, former chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

At least nine police officers are under restrictive custody over the shooting. They have been relieved of their posts and disarmed. The policemen are S/Sgts. Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Iskandar Susulan and Ernisar Sappal; Patrolmen Alkajal Mandangan, Rajiv Putalan and Moh Nur Parsani; Senior M/Sgt. Abdelzhimar Padjiri; M/Sgt. Hanie Baddiri and Cpl. Sulki Andaki.

Enraged Army

Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay sees murder in the operation. In a press briefing, he condemned what he called a fabricated report on the fatal shooting.

He said his soldiers were “murdered by policemen” and that their subsequent report was full of inconsistencies.

Gapay voiced out his anger as three of the four slain soldiers were given military arrival honors in Pasay City a day after the fatal shooting.

Some ranking officials have urged Gapay to temper his pronouncements as the incident is already being investigated.

Año asked Gapay to be “sensible” in his pronouncements so as not to “add fuel” to the situation.

Gapay’s anger could be boiling over as it is the second time in a few months that the Army has found itself at odds with the PNP over the killing of one of its own.

In April, Winston Ragos, an Army corporal discharged for suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder while in service, was killed by police at a checkpoint in Quezon City.

The Army asked the National Bureau of Investigation to step in and take charge of the probe to determine the accountability of those involved in the killing. The NBI found that the policemen had planted evidence to justify the killing of Ragos. The bureau has filed charges against the police over his death.

Justice will prevail

On Thursday, July 2, Año and PNP chief Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa vowed that justice would prevail in the shooting incident in Sulu.

Año said there are videos, photos and statements from eyewitnesses affirming that there was no shootout.

“You know, my heart bleeds for our soldiers who were slain because I know these people personally. I had been a commander of that unit when I was still in the military service and they are really professional intelligence officers,” he said.

Año disclosed that aside from the NBI, the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group are probing the incident.

“I don’t want to preclude the investigation. We have to observe due process...  I have an interest to ensure that justice shall prevail because I know these people and I have been part of the Armed Forces,” Año said in a press briefing at Malacañang.

He added: “It is my duty also to make sure that justice is served not only because they are AFP people but (it’s for) the entire country, to the public. We will exact accountability and they will answer whatever comes out of the investigation and we will file appropriate charges (against) them after the investigation.”

President Duterte has ordered the NBI to fast-track its probe and has expressed “extreme” sadness over the incident.

Año said Duterte is planning to go to Mindanao “very very soon” to discuss the Jolo incident with military and police commanders. The government is continuously implementing reforms in the police, including upgrading the training of law enforcers, to prevent similar incidents from happening, he added.

“To ensure that the relationship between the AFP and the PNP will not be affected, the President is going to talk to the commanders of the AFP and PNP in the Western (Mindanao) command area and I’ll be joining the President also. And if he has time, he will also talk with the nine suspect policemen,” Año said.

In the same briefing, presidential spokesman Harry Roque disputed the claim of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV that the Jolo incident was made possible by the administration’s supposed tolerance for extrajudicial killings or EJKs.

“We do not condone killings so we are thoroughly investigating the killing of the four soldiers,” Roque said.

Año agreed, saying EJK is “not a policy of this government.”

Video footage circulated

On July 1, a closed-circuit television or CCTV footage of the soldiers lying dead on the ground circulated. The soldiers did not have any firearms as seen in the video.

Amid speculation that the crime scene and evidence were tampered with, the Army explained on July 2 that the men touching the slain soldiers and their SUV were in fact military members.

Army spokesperson Col. Ramon Zagala said they were the soldiers responding to the shooting incident, one of whom was the brother of one of the fatalities.

“There (were) no PNP personnel at the time the responding soldiers arrived. As a natural instinct, the soldiers went to the… vehicle to check for survivors,” he explained.

Zagala noted that the personnel may have committed some lapses, but he said there was no intent to tamper with the crime scene. “Their intent was to identify the victims, see if there are survivors and secure the special equipment on board the vehicle,” he said.

He claimed that the responding soldiers left the crime scene largely untouched.

Gapay wants investigators to see the surveillance footage showing the actual shooting.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has asked military commanders not to “inflame” the emotions of troops on the ground following the incident.

“We don’t want this to escalate some more,” he said in an online forum.

He noted that the case is “as simple as looking at the evidence,” with the NBI tasked to lead the probe as agreed upon by the AFP and the PNP.

Heads will roll

Gamboa said on Thursday that heads would roll over the killing of the four military intelligence personnel.

He assured the public that the PNP would not hesitate to punish the policemen if it is established that they committed irregularities, which led to the deaths of the soldiers.

Gamboa said this in a news briefing at Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba City, Laguna where he had a command visit and also inspected a quarantine facility for police officers with coronavirus disease 2019 symptoms.

The PNP chief has ordered the creation of a fact-finding committee that would look into the circumstances that led to the shooting.

According to Gamboa, the fact-finding body will focus on whether there were violations of police operational procedures, so that a similar incident will not happen again.

“I know they are saying that from time to time it happens. Well, accidents really happen, and kahit ano gawin natin sometimes we cannot really prevent it,” he said.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said Annayo was relieved from his post for command responsibility.

Sulu police director Col. Michael Bawayan, meanwhile, will remain at his post until further notice, Banac said.

On Wednesday, the NBI said it would prioritize the probe into the deaths of the Army soldiers.

NBI deputy director for regional operations service Antonio Pagatpat said he had instructed the NBI’s Western Mindanao regional office to “consider as a priority” the investigation requested by the Army and ordered by the Department of Justice.

“You may now initiate investigation regarding the shooting of soldiers in Jolo, Sulu. The nation will be watching us,” Pagatpat said in his order to the NBI regional office.

In a June 29 letter to NBI regional director Moises Tamayo in Zamboanga City, the Western Mindanao Command requested to investigate and to “identify lapses” in the shooting incident.

Pagatpat said the investigating team sent to the area has requested for a chemist and a ballistician.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Thursday filed a resolution calling for an investigation in aid of legislation into the killing of the four soldiers.

“The incident in Jolo further feeds the public’s distrust toward the PNP. Lalo pa at hindi ito first time na mangyari,” Hontiveros said, citing the incident involving Ragos.

“Hindi pwedeng trigger-happy ang ating kapulisan,” the senator added upon filing proposed Senate Resolution No. 460 that aims to institutionalize measures against the excessive use of force and violence within the police force.

In the resolution, the senator stated that the two recent incidents demonstrate a disturbing pattern of police behavior that requires long-term strategic measures and legislative action.

“Extensive reform has to be done to restore the public’s trust in our institutions,” she said. “Dapat maintindihan ng kapulisan na ang mga pagpatay na ito ay nakakadagdag lang ng takot sa mga tao, at mas lalong nakakabawas ng tiwala.”

“The police gunned down unarmed plainclothes soldiers, who could easily have been innocent civilians. Alam din natin na maraming sibilyan na ang namatay sa kamay ng mga pulis. Ilan pa ang kailangan mamatay – sibilyan man o militar, sa Maynila man o sa Jolo – para matigil ang karahasang ito?” Hontiveros asked.

“The PNP has a lot to do to live up to its motto to ‘serve and protect.’ Our law enforcers should preserve peace in our communities, not disturb it,” the senator said.

‘Partnership’

Despite the tragic events, both the police and military said they remain partners in ensuring safety and security in the country.

The PNP said that it is ready to learn lessons from the encounter, especially on lack of proper communication and coordination between state forces.

In June 2018, six members of the PNP’s Regional Mobile Force Battalion were shot dead and nine others wounded by members of the Army’s 87th Infantry Battalion in Sta. Rita, Samar. The soldiers claimed they mistook the police, who were in uniform and on patrol, for members of the New People’s Army.The PNP vowed full cooperation with the NBI in its probe of the Sulu incident.

The Army likewise said it would revisit tactical techniques and standard operating procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Army stressed the PNP is a partner in bringing peace and security and that they aim to resolve the tragedy by finding out the truth and giving justice to the dead.

“Rest assured that this incident will not affect the harmonious working relationship between the… Army and the (PNP),” Gapay said in a statement.

“I call for sobriety from each and every member of the… Army. Let us all remain steadfast in our quest for truth and justice,” he added.