Lorenzana defends Army chief after he claimed Sulu killing ”murder”, ”rubout”

July 1, 2020

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana defended Army chief Lt. General Gilbert Gapay after he called the killing of four soldiers in Sulu a "murder" and "rubout".

"He is just repeating the reports he got from our people on the ground. Of course, the event happened just the other day and emotions are high among the Army troops. The army leadership in Sulu are trying hard to calm their people while inquiry is going on," Lorenzana said.

Major General Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said Gapay only "drew his conclusion from a learned evaluation of information that were presented to him".

"His point of view is supported by spot reports and eye-witness accounts of two civilians and of a motorcycle-riding soldier who was part of the operation trailing the SUV boarded by the four intelligence personnel," he said.

"We share the grief of Lt. Gen. Gapay and his call for an impartial and thorough investigation and his quest for justice as he minced no words in calling for accountability and liability for those involved in the incident," he added.

As Gapay also called for the relief of the Sulu Philippine National Police (PNP) officials, Lorenzana said the principle of command responsibility must be carefully determined.

"It’s not good to speculate. The accounts from both sides are conflicting. Let’s wait for the NBI investigation. While there is the principle of command responsibility, it must be carefully determined how high in the hierarchy should accountability be. It has to stop somewhere," he said.

Arevalo also mentioned that AFP chief  Gen Filemon Santos Jr and PNP chief General Archie Francisco Gamboa have agreed to revisit each other's technique, tactics, and procedure to determine if these are followed religiously to prevent the incident from happening again.

"I have talks with Gen. Gamboa and his commitment is full cooperation with the investigation of NBI as we agreed. All suspects are already under PNPs custody. We will wait for the findings of NBI,"  Santos said.

"We are here in Cebu for the IATF ( Interagency Task Force) meeting. The AFP will also determine if there are SOPs, procedures and other systems violated and improve the same to avoid similar incidents," he added.

Arevalo said apart from the yearning for justice, Santos "tasked the members of the staff and subordinate commanders to ensure that these soldiers who died in line of duty will be given the assistance, benefits, and entitlements due them."

"With the NBI on board, the investigation proceeds swiftly but deliberate and thorough with the express cooperation of the PNP and the AFP," he said.

"While we are in search for truth  and justice, we are also mindful not to allow the enemies of the state to take advantage of the incident to create a divide between the AFP and the PNP," he added. Robina Asido/DMS