Duterte in Zambo to boost AFP morale
Against his doctors’ advice, President Duterte yesterday flew to Zamboanga City to meet with military and police officials and get a better picture of the shooting incident in Sulu that led to the death of four soldiers at the hands of local policemen.
“The President will go there to give his assurance that justice will be served and those found at fault punished accordingly, because that is how it works under the administration of President Duterte,” his spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said before Duterte flew to the Edwin Andrews Air Force Base in Zamboanga City.
Roque said the President wanted to make the trip to lift the morale of the troops and assure them that justice would be served for Maj. Marvin Indammog, Cpt. Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Jaime Velasco and Cpl. Abdal Asula – all from the Army’s 9th Intelligence Service Unit of the 11th Infantry Division.
“First, he wants to know what really happened. Second, he knows that the incident generated some ill-feelings on the part of the Armed Forces because they feel that their colleagues were murdered by the police,” Roque said.
“He would go there to lift the morale of all the military personnel, the policemen because he knows, if there were those who erred, these should be corrected, and to make sure that incidents like this will not happen again under his administration,” he said.
On Thursday at the wake of the soldiers, Sen. Bong Go said the President insisted on making the trip as “father of the nation” to “calm the situation.”
He said the President wanted to personally talk to soldiers and policemen “to boost their morale in the fight against terrorism.”
Asked about the health risks posed by Duterte’s visit to Zamboanga City, Roque said the President was insistent on going there to personally address the concerns of his men.
He said the 75-year-old Duterte is “risking his life” by going to Zamboanga to address the tension, if there is any, between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.
Like most seniors, the President has co-morbidity issues that make him more vulnerable to COVID-19.
Despite the Jolo incident, the military said its hunt for suspected terrorist suicide bombers will continue.