9 cops in Jolo shooting incident now in Camp Crame

The nine police officers involved in the killing of four soldiers in Jolo, Sulu have already been transferred to Camp Crame on Tuesday morning, Philippine National Police spokesman Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac said on Wednesday.

Banac said Police Regional Office - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region chief Police Brigadier General Manuel Abu personally escorted the nine cops to Camp Crame, where they will be placed under restrictive custody.

One of the policemen was earlier tested positive for COVID-19 through rapid test, but was tested negative when he underwent confirmatory test, according to Mark Makalalad's report on Dobol B sa News TV. 

JUST IN: Nasa kustodiya na ngayon ng Philippine National Police ang 9 na pulis na sangkot sa pagpatay sa 4 na sundalo sa Jolo, Sulu noong June 29 I @dzbb @gmanews

— Mark Makalalad (@MMakalalad) July 7, 2020

Banac said Abu and the cops boarded a Cebu Pacific flight which left Cotabato Airport at 8:55 a.m. and landed in Manila at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday.

At 11 a.m., the nine policemen arrived at the Office of the Chief Executive Senior Police Officer (Command Sgt-Major) and were turned over to Police Colonel Jerich Royales, Deputy Director for Operations of the Headquarters Support Service.

Banac said transporting the cops to Camp Crame would ensure their availability to face probe by the National Bureau of Investigation on the killing of four military men, who were tracking suicide bombers when the shooting incident took place.

On June 29, 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.

According to a police spot report, the shooting incident happened when the soldiers escaped and pointed their weapons at the police officers. This allegedly prompted the policemen to gun down the soldiers.

The National Bureau of Investigation, which was tapped to look into the incident, earlier said one of the killed government troops had eight gunshot wounds while three gunshot wounds were found on the other two soldiers.

The PNP said it is up to the NBI to determine if there was an overkill that happened in the incident.

The unfortunate incident prompted the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to create a board of inquiry that aims to enhance operational procedures and identify lapses during operations.

PNP chief Police General Archie Gamboa has said security forces will also look into the real situation in Jolo, Sulu.

President Rodrigo Duterte has called on both the police and the military to be calm so that the tension will no longer escalate. —KBK, GMA News