BAGUIO CITY—Mayor James Pooten Jr. of Sagada town in Mountain Province has declared eight-day mourning starting Monday, Aug. 9, for an Igorot police officer killed by a fellow cop in Jolo, Sulu.
Philippine flags in Sagada were lowered to half-staff to pay respects to Col. Michael Bawayan Jr., 49, who served as the provincial police director of Sulu and a native of Sagada.
Bawayan was shot at close range by his subordinate, Staff Sgt. Imlan Jilah, 43, at a quarantine checkpoint in Jolo, the capital of Sulu on Aug. 6.
The security aide of Bawayan fired back and eventually killed Jilah.
Investigators said Bawayan reprimanded Jilah for sporting long hair and attempted to cut the police sergeant’s hair with a pair of scissors.
The incident reportedly triggered Jilah to draw his gun and shoot Bawayan.
“We extend our deepest sympathies and mourn with [Bawayan’s] family, those who knew him, and those who recognize his exemplary service to this country. There is nothing more tragic than the loss of a loved one, especially in this time of the pandemic,” Pooten said in a statement.
Bawayan’s remains arrived in Baguio on Tuesday morning via an airplane from Zamboanga City.
His family and the Cordillera police received his remains at the Loakan Airport and were taken to Bawayan’s residence in Barangay Brookside in this city.