THE nine policemen who figured in the killing of four Army intelligence operatives in Jolo, Sulu last month are now at the PNP headquarters in Camp Cramp, Quezon City.
PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the nine, who arrived Tuesday morning, will stay at the Headquarters Support Service while they are being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa earlier said he ordered the nine cops be sent to Camp Crame to diffuse tension in Jolo town after the four Army operatives were shot dead.
The nine cops were supposed to be brought to Camp Crame over the weekend but one of them tested positive for COVID-19 during a rapid test done on them before they were presented to President Duterte in Zamboanga City last Friday. A swab test later conducted on the cop showed he was negative of the virus.
Police Brig. Gen. Manuel Abu, chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Police Regional Office, accompanied the nine policemen to Camp Crame aboard a commercial flight from Cotabato City.
The nine Jolo policemen who will undergo further investigation by the NBI are Senior Master Sgt. Abdelzhimar H Padjiri, Master Sgt. Hanie U Baddiri, Staff Sgt. Iskandar Susulan, Staff Sgt. Ernisar P Sappal, Cpl. Sulki M Andaki , and Pat. Moh. Nur E Pasani, all members of the Jolo Municipal Police Station Alert Team; and Staff Sgt. Almudzrin M Hadjaruddin, Pat. Alkajal J Mandangan, and Pat. Rajiv G Putalan of the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) of Sulu.
The nine were on patrol when they flagged down a sports utility vehicle with the four Army soldiers on board. The cops ordered the men to follow them at the Jolo MPS for verification but the four soldiers sped away, according to a police report.
The cops chased the four men and shot them even after they have identified themselves as Army soldiers.
To prevent a whitewash of the case, which the military called a rubout, the PNP and AFP leaderships agreed to let the NBI handle the investigation.
