AFP chief Santos instructed soldiers not to avenge killing of Army men in Jolo —Arevalo

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Felimon Santos Jr. instructed commanders to advise soldiers not to take revenge on cops for the death of four Army men in Jolo, Sulu, AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said on Sunday.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV on Sunday, Arevalo said Santos advised soldiers to just let justice take its course.

“Bukod sa agad na tagubilin ng ating AFP chief of staff, si General Felimon Santos Jr., upang ang mga commander ay kanilang paalalahanan ang ating mga kasamahan na hindi po tamang gawin ay ang gumanti,” he said.

“Alam natin na meron tayong mga damdamin at nauunawaan natin 'yun, lalong-lalo na 'yung mga kaanak nitong namatay at ito mismong kasamahan sa unit nitong napatay na mga sundalo,” he added.

Arevalo made the statement when asked if there is no more tension between the police and soldiers in Jolo after the shooting involving a Philippine National Police (PNP) team and Army soldiers.

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

From ‘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, however, the incident in Jolo was not a misencounter but murder.

Speaking before troops in Zamboanga City, President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday asked soldiers to keep calm in the wake of the incident.

“You want to take revenge? For what? Gusto ko rin pumatay ng pulis? For what? Would it make the four officers come back to life?” Duterte said.

According to Arevalo, Santos also reminded soldiers to focus on their operations against criminality and terrorism instead.

“’Yun din mismo ang sinabi ng ating AFP chief of staff na si General Santos Jr. Let us put the interest of the organization of our own. Hayaan nating gumulong ang imbestigasyon,” Arevalo said. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News