Family of slain soldiers in Jolo to receive assistance —Arevalo

The family of the four soldiers who were killed by police in Jolo, Sulu will receive assistance from the government, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said on Sunday.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, Arevalo said AFP chief General Felimon Santos Jr. instructed them to give help to the families of the slain soldiers.

“Ang importante 'yung lahat ng benepisyo na laan para sa kaanak nitong namatay nating sundalo ay maibigay, katulad ng utos ng ating AFP chief,” Arevalo said.

“At ang hustisya na nararapat sa kanila ay maibigay,” he added.

On Saturday, Mafi Velasco, wife of slain soldier Sergeant Jaime Velasco, expressed dismay and anger at the Philippine National Police (PNP).

"Alam mo 'yung feeling mo—sana wala na lang PNP? Ano bang klaseng, alam mo 'yun, moral o kaisipan meron na binubuo sa inyo habang tine-training kayo para patayin niyo 'yung kapwa niyo, kapwa nasa serbisyo niyo?" she said.

On June 29, four Army soldiers were killed by cops in Jolo while working on an intelligence operation on two suicide bombers.

From a ‘misencounter’, the PNP retracted its initial statement and called what happened in Jolo as a ‘shooting incident’.

For Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay, the incident in Jolo was not a misencounter but murder.

The National Bureau of Investigation is currently doing its separate probe into the incident. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News