WesMinCom head hopes for prompt filing of charges vs nine policemen in Jolo shooting

August 20, 2020

Major General Corleto Vinluan, the new Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) chief, emphasized the importance of filing of charges in court against thenine  policemen involved in the killing of four Army intelligence soldiers in Sulu.

"Yes, it should have been filed already. We can control our soldier. What we cannot control are the Tausug. Tausugs have a different culture. We cannot control their individual relatives, although we talk to them but once they knew that the movement of the case is slow, there might be a rido (clan war)," Vinluan said Thursday.

Vinluan explained that the brother of Corporal  Abdal Asula is one of the four who died in Jolo late June. His relatives are members of the  Citizen Armed Forces Goegraphical Unit (CAFGU) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Vinluan said he spoke to the brother of Asula to talk with his relatives not to put the law in their hands.

"So far the area is peaceful. They (relatives of Asula) are waiting for the result and they are hoping. They wanted the truth to come out and then justice be served," he said.

The National Bureau of Investigation recommended to the Department of Justice that the nine policemen should face criminal charges. The justice department is holding preliminary investigation over the Jolo incident.

 However, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Gilbert Gapay told a Senate hearing that the soldiers should have been charged in court, noting that the incident took place late June. Robina Asido/DMS