Police Master Sgt. Abdelzhimar Padjiri, one of the nine policemen involved in the fatal shooting of four Army intelligence officers on June 29, 2020, testifies before the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs in a hearing Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Senate PRIB photo / Joseph Vidal
MANILA, Philippines — “Wala po kaming planong pumatay, (We never intended to kill).”
This was what one of the nine policeman said on Wednesday, in defense of the shooting that led to the death of four Army intelligence officers in Jolo, Sulu.
During a Senate public order and dangerous drugs hearing on the Jolo incident, Senator Risa Hontiveros asked Police Master Sergeant Abdelzhimar Padjiri if one of the Army officers killed, Maj. Marvin Indammog, indeed had a rifle with him, why did the policemen kill the other intelligence officers.
“Di ko po napansin sa kabilang part ng sasakyan, tapos yung nakita ko lang po si Maj. Indammog yung bumaba at nagkaputukan, the rest hindi ko na po nakita, ma’am,” Padjiri then told Hontiveros.
(I didn’t notice that in the other part of the vehicle, what I only saw was Maj. Indammog alighting from the vehicle and that’s the time I heard gunshots, the rest I did not see.)
Hontiveros further questioned Padjiri if someone ordered to kill the Army officers.
“Who called the shots? Sino po yung nag-utos na open fire tapos nangyari ay patay yung apat, pati yung mga kasama ni Maj. Indammog na malayo sa mga firearms nila?” she asked.
(Who ordered to open fire, which resulted in the death of Indammog and his colleagues who did not have firearms with them.)
Padjiri then responded to Hontiveros: “Unang una po, wala po kaming planong pumatay. Pangalawa, di na po kailangan i-explain kasi baril na po yun, your honor, so alangan antayin pa po namin barilin kami, your honor.”
(First of all, we did not want to kill anyone. Second, we don’t have to explain because that’s a gun, why would we have to wait for them to shoot us, your honor?)
Senate dangerous drugs panel chair Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief himself, then asked Padjiri why he didn’t control the policemen in the shooting.
“Nagkaputukan na po (There were already gunshots), you’re honor,” Padjiri replied to Dela Rosa.
“Pero before dapat nagkaputukan, dapat kinontrol mo. Sinabihan mo ’Sitahin natin ito, ah. Wala dapat mamatay dito,’(But before the shooting, you should’ve controlled them. You could’ve told them, “Let’s accost them, no one should die here”),” Dela Rosa then told Padjiri.
“Yun nga yung purpose namin, kaya nga po kinatok po namin yung sasakyan upang makausap po namin ng maayos. Kaya after ilang minuto, biglaan na po, your honor. Di na po maiwasan, barilan na ‘yan, delikado na,” Padjiri said.
(That was our purpose, that’s why we knocked on the car so we could talk properly to them. After a few minutes, it was so sudden, your honor. We couldn’t avoid it, it’s a shootout, it’s dangerous.)
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier charged Padjiri and eight other policemen with murder for the death of Indammog, as well as Captain Irwin Managuelod, Sergeant Jaime Velasco Jr., and Corporal Abdal Asula.
The four intelligence officers were dispatched by the Joint Intelligence Task Group and the Task Force Sulu after technical intelligence detected the possible location of two female suicide bombers and the maker of their suicide vests.
The NBI investigation showed that the policemen simultaneously attacked the Army intelligence officers without “the opportunity to defend themselves.”
And contrary to Padjiri’s claim, the NBI investigation showed that Indammog was unarmed when he alighted from his vehicle.