Raps filed vs 15 suspects in cops’ ambush in Maguindanao
HONOR Philippine National Police chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., accompanied by Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu, honors the policemen wounded in an ambush in the province on June 14 during a visit to a local hospital on June 19. —POLICE REGIONAL OFFICE-BARMM
SHARIFF AGUAK, MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR — Police have filed murder and multiple frustrated charges against 15 individuals believed to be behind the ambush of a police patrol vehicle on June 14 that killed two policemen and injured four others.
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, police director of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the complaints were filed before the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday.
Of the 15 suspects, only five were identified, according to Nobleza, although he did not name them or reveal their group’s affiliation.
The suspects’ alleged involvement in the attack was established through the work of the Special Investigation Task Group, Nobleza said.
But he clarified that all suspects remain at large and case buildup was still ongoing.
Article continues after this advertisementSix police officers of the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Mobile Group Company were heading for the provincial police office in nearby Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town when ambushed at around 8 p.m.
Article continues after this advertisementResponding police and soldiers rushed the victims to the Maguindanao del Sur provincial hospital, located about a kilometer away from the ambush site. But two of them died along the way. They were Patrolmen Saipoden Shiek Macacuna and Bryan Polayagan.
Wounded were Police Chief Master Sgt. Rey Vincent Gertos, Staff Sgt. Benjie delos Reyes, Pat. Alib Abdulgafor and Pat. RJ Bal.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but the police suspected the gunmen could be members of the Islamic State (IS)-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which maintain holdouts in Shariff Aguak and nearby towns.
The attack came hours after the top local IS leader and his aide were killed in separate raids in Marawi City.
On June 20, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. visited the policemen who survived the ambush with Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu and conferred posthumous awards and the “Medalya ng Kadakilaan” to the relatives of Macacuna and Polayagan.
