(Eagle News) — The nine policemen allegedly involved in the deaths of four soldiers in Jolo on June 29 are now under restrictive custody in Camp Crame.
In a statement, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said this was to ensure Police Senior Master Sergeant Abdelzhimar Padjiri; Police Master Sergeant Hanie Baddiri; Police Staff Sergeant Iskandar Susulan; Police Staff Sergeant Ernisar Sappal; Police Corporal Sulki Andaki; Patrolman Moh. Nur Pasani; Police Staff Sergeant Almudzrin Hadjaruddin; Patrolman Alkajal Mandangan and Patrolman Rajiv Putalan would be available for the probe being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation on the incident.
Banac said the nine were accompanied by Brig. Gen. Manuel Abu, regional director of the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, when they arrived in Manila at 10:15 a.m. through a Cebu Pacific flight.
According to Banac, the nine police officers were turned over to Police Colonel Jerich Royales, deputy director for operations of the Headquarters Support Service at Camp Crame.
The Army had condemned the shooting, saying the soldiers were on official mission when they were attacked.
Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said there was “no provocation” on the part of the soldiers, neither was there any altercation between both sides to warrant such a “carnage.”
But a police report from BARMM said the “armed men” who introduced themselves as soldiers fled upon arrival at the Jolo Municipal Station where they were supposed to undergo verification, and pointed a gun at the police team at one point.
The PNP earlier called the incident a ” misencounter,” but later retracted its statement, acknowledging the soldiers never fired a single shot.
President Rodrigo Duterte has urged both sides for calm, expressing hope the NBI would ferret out the truth.
