Palace awaits NBI investigation on Sulu misencounter

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said it would wait for the results of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) probe before making conclusions on the misencounter in Sulu.

A misencounter between military and police Monday resulted in the death of four soldiers in Jolo, Sulu.

“Siguro po antayin muna natin ang imbestigasyon. Parehong ang kapulisan at ang hukbong sandatahan ay humingi na ng tulong sa NBI para imbestigahan nang maintindihan natin ang talagang nangyari,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.

(Maybe we should wait for the investigation first. Both police and military already sought for NBI’s help to probe the incident so that we could understand what really happened.)

“Siguro let’s be fair, hotspot po talaga ang Jolo ngayon, patuloy ang aktibidades ng mga terorista diyan. Tingin ko po medyo nag-iingat at medyo mataas ang tensyon diyan sa area na ‘yan so I will not make any conclusion sa ngayon po, hanggang hindi natatapos ang imbestigasyon ng NBI,” he added.

(Let’s be fair, Jolo is a hotspot right now, activities of terrorists continue there. We are being careful since the tension there is a little high so I will not make any conclusion until NBI finishes its investigation.)

An “enraged” Philippine Army called for a full investigation into the death of four soldiers in the hands of police forces.

The Philippine National Police, meanwhile, said it will improve its coordination with the military to prevent another misencounter. It also assured cooperation with the NBI investigation.

JPV