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Army honors soldiers slain by cops in Jolo


The Philippine Army on Tuesday afternoon honored the soldiers killed in Jolo, Sulu on Monday.

According to the Philippine Army, three of the four soldiers were given military arrival honors at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. The remains of Major Marvin Indamog, Captain Irwin Managuelod, and Sergeant Eric Velasco were received by Army chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay.

Corporal Abdal Asula's burial rites will be held in Sulu, according to the Army.

"Today we honor and remember their sacrifices for the country. We mourn and condole with their bereaved families and we ensure that the necessary assistance will be given to them,” Gapay said.

"This tragedy imposed a great loss for our pursuit of peace in the Sulu region. The Philippine Army is strongly demanding for an impartial investigation to get to the bottom of this without any intention to create animosity between the Army and the PNP," he added.

According to a police report, security forces from the Jolo Municipal Police Station (MPS) and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit were on patrol in Barangay Busbos when they spotted four armed men on board a gray SUV at Sitio Marina, Barangay Walled at 2:40 p.m. of Monday.

Police officers confronted the armed men, who had identified themselves as AFP personnel. The cops then directed them to proceed to Jolo MPS for further verification of their identities.

However, upon arriving at the said police station, the policemen claimed that the AFP troops fled toward Martirez, Barangay San Raymundo.

Cops then chased them, prompting soldiers to disembark from their vehicle and pointed their firearms at the cops. Due to this, the cops fired shots at the soldiers, resulting in their deaths.

The National Bureau of Investigation was tapped to conduct an impartial probe on the incident. -NB, GMA News

The Philippine National Police vowed to cooperate in the investigation but it said the matter was an isolated case.

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