Santos orders troops not to take revenge vs cops after Sulu incident

July 5, 2020

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Felimon Santos Jr. has ordered the soldiers not to take revenge against the police following the death of four members of the Philippine Army in Jolo, Sulu last June 29.

In a radio interview, Major General Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said they understand the emotions of some soldiers, especially the unit of the slain soldiers, but they told them to let justice take its course.

“Our AFP chief of staff, General Felimon Santos Jr., immediately told the commanders to remind their men that it’s not right to take revenge,” Arevalo said.

Arevalo added Santos told soldiers to just focus on their operations against criminality and terrorism.

“Our AFP Chief of Staff said ‘Let us put the interest of the organization of our own’ and just let the investigation take its course,” he said.

“We know that they are still on heightened emotions and we understand that especially the relatives and the unit where they belong,” he said.

The military official assured the families of the soldiers that they will receive assistance from the government.

“It is important that we can give all benefits to their families… and justice must be served,” he said.

According to Arevalo, they will also review their operational guidelines to prevent any untoward incident.

“We have this called after action review. Here, we are studying our process, our current techniques, tactics and procedure if this is in accordance with our law and policies,” he said.

“After the review, we can see if there are changes we need to improve to make sure our operations are effective and will be successful… and at the same time, to find if there are things we need to prevent from happening again,” he added.

Last June 3, President Rodrigo Duterte visited Zamboanga City and told soldiers to remain calm.

"If you take revenge, for what? You want to kill police, for what? Will it make the four (military) officers come back to life?" he said.

Duterte asked for the government troops' understanding as he assured of an impartial investigation being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation. Ella Dionisio/DMS