9 cops in Sulu shooting incident now in Camp Crame

FILE: The facade of the Main Office Building of the Philippine National Police Headquarters at the camp. (Photo by Ryomaandres/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – The nine police officers involved in the shooting of four military intelligence operatives in Jolo, Sulu last week have been transferred to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame.

In a statement Tuesday night, PNP chief Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa said these police officers were transported to the PNP headquarters to ensure their availability amid the ongoing probe by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of the incident.

The police officers — Senior M/Sgt. Abdelzhimar Padjiri, M/Sgt. Hanie Baddiri, S/Sgt. Iskandar Susulan, S/Sgt. Ernisar Sappal, Cpl. Sulki Andaki and Pat. Mohammad Nur Pasani, members of the Jolo Municipal Police Station (MPS) Alert Team and S/Sgt. Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Pat. Alkajal Mandangan and Pat. Rajiv Putalan, from the Sulu Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, will remain under restrictive custody.

The nine were escorted to Camp Crame by Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) director Brig. Gen. Manuel Abu.

Abu and the nine policemen left the PRO-BAR headquarters at 6:50 a.m. and boarded a Cebu Pacific flight that left Cotabato Airport at 8:55 a.m. on Tuesday.

They landed in Manila at 9:15 a.m. and arrived in Camp Crame at 11 a.m. and were turned over to Col. Jericho Royales, deputy director for operations of the Headquarters Support Service.

Sought for comment on the transfer of the nine police officers, the Philippine Army said it is up to the NBI to speak on the matter.

“We leave that to the NBI. Investigation is conducted and led by the NBI and they are the ones to speak on anything related to the case,” Army spokesperson Col. Ramon Zagala said in a message.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the move shows the PNP’s resolve not only to “ease the tension” but also of their commitment to facilitate investigation on the administrative aspect of the incident.

“It is also in this light that the AFP Inspector General, Lt. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, together with his counterpart in the PNP, has embarked on a Board of Inquiry to determine what went wrong and recommend to AFP Chief General Felimon Santos, Jr. what amendments in the current Standing Operating Procedures and Techniques, Tactics, and Procedures are necessary to ensure operational success and prevent the incident from happening again,” AFP spokesperson, Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier directed the NBI to speed up the investigation into the shooting incident on June 29.

Slain in the incident were Maj. Marvin Indammog, 39; Capt. Irwin Managuelod, 33; Sgt. Jaime Velasco, 38; and Cpl. Abdal Asula, 33. They were tailing four terrorist suicide bombers when the shooting happened. (with reports from Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)