Cops in troops’ slay to be held in Crame

MANILA, Philippines — The nine policemen involved in the June 29 killing of four Army intelligence operatives will soon be detained at the Philippine National Police’s general headquarters in Camp Crame.

In an interview aired on Sunday over radio station dzBB, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the nine policemen, who are now detained at the Sulu provincial police office, were supposed to be transferred on Friday last week, but one of them tested positive for COVID-19.

Año identified the policemen as Senior Master Sergeant Abdelzhimar Padjiri, Master Sergeant Hanie Baddiri, Staff Sergeant Iskandar Susulan, Staff Sergeant Ernisar Sappal, Cpl. Sulki Andaki and Pat. Mohammad Nur Pasani, all from the Jolo town police station; as well as Sulu provincial drug enforcement unit personnel Staff Sergeant Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Pat. Alkajal Mandangan and Pat. Rajiv Putalan.

“We were supposed to take them with us on Friday to Manila, but one of them tested positive. We do not know if the others are infected as well so we [cannot] take them back with us on the aircraft,” Año said.

He pointed out that the cops would remain in Camp Crame while the National Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident which resulted in the death of Maj. Marvin Indammog, Capt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Jaime Velasco and Cpl. Abdal Asula.

Indammog and his men were on a mission to capture Abu Sayyaf bomb maker Mundi Sawadjaan and two newly trained female suicide bombers when the policemen stopped them at a checkpoint and ordred the soldiers to proceed to the police station where they were shot.

‘Misencounter or rubout’

Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, the PNP spokesperson, earlier said the incident was a “misencounter,” but Army commander Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay called it outright “murder” and a “rubout.”

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted last Friday that the incident has caused tension between the Armed Forces and the PNP, and set back the government’s fight against local terrorists.

The military said Sawadjaan, the target of the derailed mission, was responsible for a series of deadly blasts that killed dozens of people last year, including the two bombings at the Jolo Cathedral in January 2019 which left more than 20 people dead and over 100 wounded.

Sawadjaan, military intelligence claim, is a nephew of Abu Sayyaf subleader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the alleged leader of the Islamic State group in the Philippines.

But Año said criminal charges would “definitely” be filed against them as antiterrorism operations will continue in Sulu.President Duterte, he said, had asked the uniformed personnel involved to fully cooperate with the NBI investigation and assured that they would be afforded due process when he visited Zamboanga on Friday.

“We can clearly see in that incident the suspects’ violation of the rules of engagement. This would not have happened had they followed the rules of engagement,” Año said.