Jolo police chief relieved after death of Army intelligence officers

July 2, 2020

Jolo's municipal police chief was relieved from his post following the death of four Army intelligence officers last Monday in a shooting incident with nine of his personnel.

Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman, said Lt. Colonel Walter Annayo was relieved on Wednesday for command responsibility.

Army chief Lt. General Gilbert Gapay earlier called for the dismissal of Annayo and the Sulu provincial director,  they were responsible for what their nine policemen did.

Initial reports from the Sulu Provincial Police Office said the  policemen fired at the soldiers after they pointed their firearms.

Jolo police also claimed the soldiers did not give any identification and tried to escape when they arrived at the police station to validate their identities.

PNP then later ruled out the "misencounter" angle in the shooting incident after Banac clarified that the report submitted by Sulu police stated the soldiers never fired their guns at the policemen.

“Based on our cursory review of the report, we did not read anything that the soldiers fired their guns,” he said.

Banac said this report must be verified by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Aside from NBI, the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS) also started its own  investigation.

Banac earlier said they are keeping their hands off on the investigation being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) so they will not influence the ongoing probe.

The nine cops involved in the incident were relieved from their posts and placed under restrictive custody under the Sulu provincial director. Ella Dionisio/DMS