CCTV footage of Sulu 'shooting incident' surfaces; NBI probing

CCTV footage of the recent bloody incident in Jolo, Sulu shows the body of one of the four slain soldiers being moved by a man wearing a cap.

A report on GMA News' Unang Balita on Thursday said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is already looking into CCTV footage of the incident where policemen shot the four soldiers to death.

The video shows a man wearing a cap reaching something from one of his companions and then moving the body of one of the slain soldiers on the ground. He also seems to have placed something under the body.

He was also seen opening the SUV of the soldiers and seem to have moved something inside before putting an unidentified object in his bag. After this, he was seen moving one of the bodies on the ground again.

The body of one of the slain soldiers,  Captain Irwin Managuelod, was inside the SUV. The other fatalities were identified as Major Marvin Indammog, Sergeant Jaime Velasco Jr. and Corporal Abdal Asula.

Later in the day, Army spokesperson Colonel Ramon Zagala said the men were actually soldiers who responded to the incident.

"Ika-clarify lang po namin 'yung recent video na umiikot, ito nakita namin kaninang umaga. At first glance namin ay inakala namin mga PNP pero vinerify namin and on verification kaning umaga, ito'y mga sundalo na nagrerespond noong shooting..." Zagala told Dobol B sa News TV.

"Noong pumunta sila doon gusto nila ascertain 'yung identities kung ito ba ay mga kasama natin kasi noong dumating sila, walang PNP," he added.

'Retracted'

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has already retracted its statement that what happened was a misencounter, admitting that the soldiers did not fire a single gunshot. According to PNP spokesman Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, what transpired was a "shooting incident."

The military, on the other hand, said what happened was a rubout. It said the soldiers were conducting intelligence operations in tracking alleged suicide bombers when they were flagged down by the policemen.

The police claimed the soldiers sped away, resulting in a chase and, eventually, the shooting incident.

The PNP, which is conducting an internal investigation, has disarmed and relieved from their posts the nine policemen involved in the incident. Police Lieutenant Colonel Walter Annayo, chief of the Jolo Municipal Police Station, has also been removed from his post.  

At the Senate, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution calling for an investigation into the incident.

Hontiveros said it was not the first time that the police have killed fellow uniformed personnel, mentioning that retired Army Corporal Winston Ragos — who was suffering from mental illness — was  shot dead by cops in Quezon City last April.

"Hindi pwedeng trigger-happy ang ating kapulisan... Dapat maintindihan ng kapulisan na ang mga pagpatay na ito ay nakakadagdag lang ng takot sa mga tao, at mas lalong nakakabawas ng tiwala," Hontiveros said.

For his part, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he has talked to military commanders, urging them not to "inflame" the emotions of government troops following the incident.

"I told the troops, the commanders yesterday, to let us not inflame the emotions of the soldiers, we don't want this to escalate some more," Lorenzana said during an online forum.

"Something is being done and we will get to the bottom of this. There are a lot of witnesses there when it happened, civilians and soldiers. There is the CCTV to cover us that recorded the incident. I think it's simple looking at the evidence," Lorenzana added. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News