WestMinCom chief says Jolo incident 'seems overkill'

COTABATO CITY -  The Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) is saddened by the unfortunate demise of four operatives working for the Intelligence Service Unit (ISU) of the Philippine Army when they were mistaken as enemies by police operatives manning a checkpoint in Barangay Busbos, Jolo, in Sulu on Monday afternoon.

“It seems overkill. Wala namang makitang mga baril. We want an impartial investigation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation,” WestMinCom Commander Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana said in a phone interview on Monday night.

Photos circulating in social media show three men lying on a cemented road but no firearms could be seen, and yet several bullets were traced by Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO). These were marked by flaglets.

Military reports said four members of the 9th ISU conducting intelligence-gathering by interception of signals (SIGINT) were aboard a gray Montero SUV when they were mistakenly fired upon by police personnel of Jolo and Police Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) personnel assigned in the area, resulting in their death.

WestMinCom said the fatalities are Major Marvin Indamog, Captain Irwin Managuelod, Sergeant Eric Velasco and Corporal Abdal Asula. Indamog was the commanding officer of the unit.

The four intelligence operatives were tracking the location of reported suicide bombers under the group of Mundi Sawajaan in coordination with Joint-Task Force Sulu and the 11th Infantry Division.

“It could be a lapse of judgment from the part of the PNP personnel when they immediately opened fire. Admittedly there is a high level of paranoia among those assigned government forces in Jolo,” Sobejana said.

According to a  police report, however, it was around 2:40 p.m. that the victim soldiers were first sighted in Sitio Marina, Barangay Walled City in downtown Jolo.

Police personnel, together with the Police Drug Enforcement Unit, spotted them while patrolling in Barangay Bus-bus.

When confronted by the Philippine National Police team, the men introduced themselves as members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They were then directed to proceed to Jolo Municipal Police Station (MPS) for verification.

Upon arrival at the station, police said the men fled toward Martirez, Barangay San Raymundo.

When PNP personnel chased them, the police said the men disembarked from their vehicle with firearms. The men pointed their firearms towards the personnel. However, before they could pull the trigger, the police were able to shoot them in defense, the report said.

The PNP on Monday extended its condolences to the bereaved families of the four soldiers.

“The PNP leadership extends its deepest condolences to the family and colleagues of two Philippine Army officers and two enlisted men who died in the unfortunate incident,” it said in a statement.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday ordered the police officers involved in the killing of the four soldiers disarmed and placed under the custody of the Sulu Provincial Police Director.

“I already gave instructions to Police General Archie Gamboa to disarm the policemen involved, restrict them under the custody of the Sulu Provincial Director. They will be investigated by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and I will request a parallel investigation by the [National Bureau of Investigation],” said Año.

Sobejana also said that Sunday was the first year anniversary of the first suicide attack in the history of the Philippines.

He referred to the case of Arman Lasuca and an accomplice, who detonated a bomb attached to his body while at a checkpoint in Indanan, Sulu on June 28 last year. The incident resulted in the death of eight people including three soldiers and the bombers.

A few weeks ago, members of the same group attacked a police checkpoint in Parang, Sulu wherein three police personnel were killed. —BAP/KG, GMA News