MANILA, Philippines — The hunt is still going on for nine former policemen accused of killing four Army intelligence agents in Jolo, Sulu province, last year.
“The manhunt is in Jolo. According to the last report, they are in Jolo and have gone home,” Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas told reporters on Monday.
“So we are negotiating for some who may wish to surrender and have their safety assured. I told them as long as they will surrender, I have no problem with that [negotiation] but the manhunt is still [going on],” he said.
Tracker teams
The manhunt is being conducted by tracker teams from the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, PNP Intelligence Group and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police office “who are all in Jolo.”
But Sinas, who attended the National Day of Remembrance for 44 Special Action Force commandos killed in 2015 in Mamasapano during a counterterrorism operation launched by the PNP, said he “could not openly discuss” with the media if the nine former policemen had sent surrender feelers.
Facing arrest warrants for murder and planting of evidence are former police senior master sergeant Abdelzhimar Padjiri, police master sergeant Hannie Baddiri, police staff sergeants Iskandar Susulan and Erniskar Sappal, police corporal Sulki Andaki and police patrolman Moh Nur Pasani, as well as former Sulu provincial police drug enforcement unit members staff sergeant Almudzrin Hadjaruddin and patrolmen Alkajal Mandangan and Rajiv Putalan.
They are accused of involvement in the June 29, 2020, killing at a police checkpoint in Jolo of four members of the 11th Infantry Division’s 9th Intelligence Service Unit—Maj. Marvin Indammog, Capt. Irwin Managuelod, Cpl. Abdal Asula and Sgt. Jaime Velasco Jr.
The nine former policemen were released earlier this month from restrictive custody at Camp Crame despite a request from the Department of Justice to hold them a while longer pending the court’s issuance of warrants for their arrest.
The warrants, however, were issued on Jan. 14, days after their release.
According to Sinas, they had no more legal basis for keeping the nine in custody since they were no longer policemen following their dismissal from the PNP. INQ