‘Forgive the soldiers,’Duterte urges kin of slain cops

SHOT BY SOLDIERS President Duterte visits nine policemen wounded in a mistaken clash with soldiers in Sta. Rita, Samar province.—MALACAÑANG PHOTO

President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the families of policemen killed in a mistaken clash with the military in a Samar town to forgive the soldiers and allow the investigation to go on.

He said he explained to the families when he visited the wake on Friday that no one wanted the tragedy to happen.

“I told them, just forgive since it’s not intentional,” the President recalled telling the relatives in a speech in Tacloban City for the Sangyaw Festival of Lights.

“You know how the Murphy’s Law operates,” the President said. “When things go wrong it will go wrong,” he added.

Maj. Gen. Raul Farnacio, commanding general of the 8th Infantry Division, apologized for the mistaken clash in Sta. Rita town, Samar, in the morning of June 25 that killed six policemen and wounded nine others.

Soldiers blamed

The families of the police officers blamed soldiers from the 87th Infantry Brigade based in Calbiga, Samar, a unit under the 8th Infantry Division.

Farnacio said the clash was a chance encounter between friendly forces which no one wanted to happen.

The Presaident visited the wake of the six slain police officers inside the Matapat Hall in Camp Ruperto Kangleon, headquarters of the Eastern Visayas police in Palo, Leyte province, on Friday afternoon.

He arrived around 5:25 p.m. with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde, Armed Forces Chief Carlito Galvez, Interior Undersecretary Eduardo Año, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino and Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go.

He went over to each of the six coffins that were lined up inside the hall, bowed his head and prayed.

Cash, phone

He also conferred each police officer the Kalasag Medal under the Order of Lapu-Lapu which was being given to government officials and personnel and private individuals who died or lost valuables for joining a campaign or advocacy of the President.

The President also gave P220,000 in financial assistance and an analog Samsung phone to each family.

From the wake, the President and his party proceeded to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City to visit the nine policemen wounded in the mistaken clash.

He also conferred Kalasag Medals to Elmer Pan, Cris Angelo Pialago, Romulo Cordero, Joenel Gonzaga, Rey Barbosa, Roden Goden, Jaime Galoy, Rommel Bagunas and Jonmark Adones — all with the rank of police officer 1.

Mother’s pain

From the hospital, he proceeded to Balyuan Amphitheater for the Sangyaw Festival of Lights in Tacloban.

In his speech, the President said that if there was someone to blame, it should be him as the commander in chief of both PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Some of the slain policemen’s relatives said they accepted the President’s advice.

“What can we do? We have to just accept it,” said Rosario Mendigo, mother of PO1 Phil Rey Mendigo.

“But it hurts and pains me that my son was killed,” she said.