Hontiveros seeks Senate probe on Sulu shooting incident that left 4 soldiers dead

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday sought for a Senate investigation on the police shooting that claimed the lives of four military men in Jolo, Sulu.

In filing Senate Resolution 460, the minority senator said the incident "feeds the public's distrust" towards the Philippine National Police (PNP).

She stressed that 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.

The senator said that even though the National Bureau of Investigation is already tasked to probe the matter, a Senate investigation in aid of legislation is needed to institutionalize measures against "excessive use of force and violence within the police force."

Hontiveros visited the wake of Major Marvin Indammog, Captain Irwin Managuelod, and Sergeant Jaime Velasco on Wednesday.

The other fallen soldier, Corporal Abdal Asula, was buried immediately in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Senator Francis Pangilinan also supports the call to have a Senate investigation on the matter.

On Tuesday, Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay said what happened in Jolo was not a misencounter as the PNP claimed but murder. The following day, the PNP retracted what it said and noted that what transpired was a shooting incident.

The chief of the Jolo Municipal Police Station was administratively relieved from his post and is under the custody of the Sulu Provincial Police Office pending investigation on the incident.

Senators Panfilo Lacson and Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, both former PNP chiefs, said the ground commanders should rein in the situation to prevent any further escalation which may be taken advantage of by state enemies. —KBK, GMA News