Release of cops in Jolo killing of Army intel officers dismays AFP chief

MANILA, Philippines—Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Gillbert Gapay expressed dismay over the release of policemen accused of murdering four Army soldiers in Jolo, Sulu in June 2020.

Gapay was “extremely disappointed” by the release from custody of the nine policemen, AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement on Monday (Jan. 11).

The police officers had been dismissed from the service on Jan. 1. Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas said the policemen were released from detention as there had been no warrant of arrest for them.

The Department of Justice had filed a case of multiple murder against the dismissed policemen on Jan. 4, but the regional trial court in Jolo issued no warrant of arrest for the policemen.

Arevalo said it was “unfortunate” that while the DOJ filed the case online against the policemen at the Jolo court, no warrant of arrest had been issued by the court

Four Army intelligence officers on the trail of suspected terrorists were shot dead by policemen at a checkpoint in Sulu in June 2020 in what police had initially described as a “misencounter” but which the military said was murder.

Arevalo vowed that “our personnel and the relatives of the slain soldiers that the AFP will continue with our persistent coordinations with relevant government agencies for the issuance of the said warrants.”

TSB