FAMILIES OF 4 SLAIN SOLDIERS FILE MURDER RAPS VS COPS

The families of the four Army personnel who were shot dead by police officers in Jolo, Sulu, have filed separate complaints for murder at the National Bureau of Investigation, a bureau official confirmed on Thursday.

Antonio Pagatpat, NBI deputy director for regional operations, said the family of Maj. Marvin Indammog filed the complaint last week, while the families of Capt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Jaime Velasco Jr. and Cpl. Abdal Asula submitted their complaints on Wednesday.

Indammog was buried in Tabuk City, Kalinga, on Wednesday with his relatives carrying signs, one of which read: “The dead cannot cry for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them.”

“[The complaints] clearly support our investigation,” Pagatpat told the Inquirer in a text message. He explained that at the start of their probe, the bases for their investigation were the request from the Philippine Army and the department order from Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

The NBI was tasked to conduct an impartial probe into the death of the four soldiers who were gunned down by police officers on June 29.

Indammog and his team were returning to Jolo from an intelligence mission in a nearby town when they were flagged down by police at a quarantine checkpoint. The Army officer identified himself, but the group was directed to go to the police station where they were shot moments later.

The NBI was given 10 days to submit its initial report.