27 of 44 SAF troopers shot in the head

Photo from Nikko Dizon’s Twitter account

MANILA, Philippines—The medico legal report on the policemen killed in the Mamasapano clash last month revealed that 27 of the 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers were shot in the head.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said in its updated report that of the 44 policemen:

9 were shot in the head;

18 suffered gunshot wounds in the head, trunk and extremities; and

17 sustained gunshot wounds in the trunk and extremities.

The men were part of the 392-strong SAF group which went after international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25. While they were able to kill Marwan, they engaged in a gunfight with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) for several hours.

Initial reports said the clash was a “misencounter” but critics questioned the manner in which the policemen died, with some calling it a “massacre.”

Police Chief Insp. Elizabeth Degocena Jasmin, public information office chief of the CIDG, said three of the policemen were not wearing their protective vests when they were shot in the body. She said it was possible that the vests were removed.

All of the police commissioned officers, except Police Senior Insp. Max Jim Tria, received fatal gunshot wounds to the head. The other police commissioned officers were Police Senior Inspectors Ryan Pabalinas, Gebnat Tabdi, Cyrus Anniban, John Gary Erana, and Police Insp. Joey Gamutan.

“In the case of Police Officer 1 (Joseph) Sagonoy who was identified later as the one being shot in a video that went viral on social media, medico legal examination showed that the victim sustained injuries in the lower left thigh, and two fatal shots were inflicted in the head,” she said.

In the said video, which was viewed more than a million times on Facebook, Sagonoy was still conscious when he was shot at close range by unidentified armed men.

Jasmin said the slug of a 9-mm caliber handgun was recovered from the victim’s brain.

“Results indicate that the victim was shot at close range with a pistol about 60 cm to at least a couple of meters from the point of entry,” she said.

Jasmin said the anticybercrime group of the PNP was already tracking the Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer used in the uploading of the controversial video.