ADVERTISEMENT
Lorenzana welcomes dismissal of Jolo cops in slay of Army men
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Saturday lauded the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) decision to sack the nine police officers involved in the June 29 shooting of four army personnel in Jolo, Sulu.
“We welcome Gen. Debold Sinas’s approval of the dismissal of the nine police officers involved in the shooting incident in Jolo, Sulu on 29 June 2020, which led to the deaths of four Philippine Army officers and soldiers,” Lorenzana said in a statement.
On Friday, PNP chief Police General Debold Sinas announced that he approved the dismissal
of the nine police officers and they shall be turned over to their families 10 days after the dismissal is finalized should no warrant of arrest be served against them.According to the chief PNP, the agency has no legal basis to hold the officers as they are already holding civilian titles after being dismissed from service.
Lorenzana said the government also sympathizes with the families of the nine dismissed policemen who are facing long jail terms.
“Their families are as much a victim of the incident as the families of the soldiers who were killed,” the Defense chief said.
“Moving forward, we hope that the AFP and PNP learn from this incident, and take concrete steps to prevent such things from happening in the future,” he said.
In a separate statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it considers a welcome development the dismissal from the service of nine of 12 PNP personnel for their participation in the shooting incident that claimed the lives of four AFP intelligence personnel—two of them officers.
“We understand, however, that the policemen’s separation from the service is an administrative penalty. We are one with the families of our slain soldiers in their quest for the filing of criminal charges against the said members of Jolo Police,” it said.
The AFP said it will monitor the development of the case.
“We will ensure that justice is served for the hapless victims who were killed while in the actual performance of their solemn duty. We are optimistic that appropriate penalties will be meted on the perpetrators,” it said.
“We hope that necessary measures will be instituted by the PNP to prevent the incident from happening again,” the AFP added.
In July, the National Bureau of Investigation filed complaints for four counts of murder and planting of evidence against the following individuals:
- Police Senior Master Sergeant Abdelzhimar H Padjiri
- Police Master Sergeant Hanie U. Baddiri
- Police Staff Sergeant Iskandar I. Susulan
- Police Staff Sergeant Ernisar P. Sappal
- Police Corporal Sulki M. Andaki
- Patrolman Mohammad Nur E. Pasani
- Police Staff Sergeant Almudzrin M. Hadjaruddin
- Patrolman Alkajal J. Mandangan
- Patrolman Rajiv G. Putalan
ADVERTISEMENT
The NBI’s legal division said evidence shows it was the nine police officers who killed the four soldiers.
On June 29, the military men were tracking suicide bombers when the shooting incident transpired.
The soldiers were flagged down by cops in Barangay Walled City. Despite identifying themselves as members of the military, they were instructed to go to the police station for further verification of their identities.
According to a police spot report, the shooting incident happened when the soldiers allegedly escaped and pointed their weapons at the police officers. This allegedly prompted the policemen to fire at the soldiers. —Ted Cordero/KG/LBG, GMA News