KAPAI, Lanao del Sur – The Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) on Tuesday conducted a reenactment on the Oct. 8 ambush that killed five agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), hoping that it will shed light and produce vital information on the gruesome incident.
Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares, regional director of the Police Regional Office in ARMM (PRO-ARMM), said the reenactment was part of the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigation that is conducted separately with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“This will form part of our investigation, that’s why the PDEA is also present here, together with the PNP Crime Lab. This is to determine distances and to check if there is no operational procedure of the PNP that had been violated,” Mijares said.
Mijares said the PNP investigation will also seek to determine suspicions that “some of our personnel were not able to provide the proper security requirements to the PDEA agents who were ambushed.”
The last thing the PNP wanted, he said, is to erase public doubts of a possible cover-up on the part of the police.
The ambush also wounded another PDEA agent and a non-uniformed personnel of Tagoloan II Municipal Police Station (MPS).
The five casualities are PDEA agents Bincio Dipolla, who was driving the van carrying the PDEA personnel, Kenneth Tabulo, Kristine Mae Torlao, Lores Joy Amar, and Diobel Pacinio who died while being treated at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City.
Another agent, Rachel Gentapan, is still in a critical condition in a hospital in Cotabato City.
Mijares said a day after the ambush, the four police escorts and the chief of police of Tagoloan II were immediately relieved from their posts and were put under restrictive costudy at the Provincial Police Office of Lanao del Sur.
“They were disarmed, we conducted ballistic test and gun residue test to all personnel of Tagoloan (MPS) para sa (so that there will be) cross matching sa mga na-recover natin na (to those we recovered) empty shells and slugs from the crime scene,” Mijares said.
If there was a violation on the part of the PNP personnel, Mijares assured that a case will be filed against them.
“We will not condone them if ever na totong may kinalaman sila (they were truly involved),” he added.
Mijares said he has already received an order from the Department of Interior and Local Government to assist in the resolution of the case.
“Everybody is obliged to help because these PDEA agents are here to help, conduct lectures to our surrenderers, and help our barangays so that they will be cleared from drugs,” he added.
“Wherever they are now, they should surrender or if not, we cannot yet estimate what will happen to them but definitely all government forces are helping to find them,” he said, referring to the suspects.
“This is not only an attack to PDEA but an attack to the government. I am using all my resources to get you and I know we can get you,” he added. (Divina Suson/PNA)
