FOUR intelligence operatives of the Philippine Army were killed “without provocation” on Monday, June 29, 2020, in Jolo, Sulu, by members of the local police force.
Various initial reports reaching Manila disclosed that the soldiers— Major Marvin Indamog, Captain Irwin Managuelod, Sergeant Eric Velasco and, Corporal Abdal Asula—were on their way back to their camp onboard a silver ‘Mitsubishi Montero’ when they were flagged down for inspection at a police checkpoint.
Prior to this, a military report said the group had just been to Bgy. Mauboh, Patikul, to check on a report on the presence in the area of two ‘suicide bombers’ under the group of Mundi Sawadhaan, a sub-commander of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
At the checkpoint, the soldiers agreed to proceed to the Jolo Police Station with the policemen to sort out the matter of their actual identity.
After parking their vehicle several meters away from the police station in Bgy. Walled City, Jolo, Sulu, Indamog stepped out of the vehicle alone and unarmed.
He was talking with the policemen when he was suddenly shot dead by one of them.
Their colleagues then started strafing the Montero with their assault rifles, killing all those on board.
A soldier in civilian uniform who was following the Montero in a motorcycle was said to have witnessed the incident.
Sulu provincial police director, Colonel Michael Bawayan, early today, June 30, 2020, reported that he has disarmed and taken into custody, 5 of his men involved in the murder. Their names, however, were not disclosed as of this posting.
The Sulu PNP also earlier claimed the shooting came after the soldiers, who allegedly tried to “run away,” first tried to train their guns on the “pursuing” policemen.
However, initial photos of the incident that have appeared on social media showed the dead soldiers clearly unarmed.
Philippine Army commanding general, Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, also disputed the worn-out “nanlaban” version of the police, saying:
“The soldiers were on a mission to identify the location of known terrorists in the area.
“Based on eyewitness accounts, no altercation transpired between the two parties nor was there any provocation on the part of Army personnel to warrant such carnage.”
The bodies of the murdered soldiers, who all belonged to the 11th ‘Alakdan’ Division, Philippine Army, had been flown early today to Manila.
Both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police agreed to let the National Bureau of Investigation handle the investigation.