Dismissed Jolo cops already turned over to families — Sinas

The nine police officers involved in the Jolo shooting incident in June last were turned over to their families as no warrants of arrest have been released yet against them, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Debold Sinas said Monday.

"Actually sila po ay nai-release na kasi wala pong warrant of arrest na binigay sa amin. We have coordinated with the DOJ (Department of Justice) at saka sa lahat, hanggang ngayon wala po," Sinas said at a press conference.

"So ayaw po namin ma-charge po kaming arbitrary detention at saka 'yung pinirmahan ko pong dismissal is implementable na po 'yun. So we turned them over to their relatives and lawyers," he added.

According to Sinas, the cops were turned over to their relatives last week.

The PNP chief earlier said the police force has no legal basis to hold the officers as they are already holding civilian titles after being dismissed from the service.

On June 29, four intelligence officers of the Philippine Army 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.

Armed Forces chief General Gilbert Gapay, then Army chief, branded the incident as murder. He also criticized the police report of the incident, saying it was full of inconsistencies and lies. — RSJ, GMA News