Hontiveros renews call for suspension of Jolo police force
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros welcomed the national police's latest decision to suspend the nine cops involved in the Jolo shooting in June but maintained that the entire police force should be suspended to allow for a freer hand to investigate the twin bombings that occurred less than a month later.
In a statement issued Tuesday morning, Hontiveros reiterated that the connection between the two events, corroborated by intelligence reports and even acknowledged by Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., AFP Western Mindanao Command chief, was yet to be brought to light.
This comes after Police Gen. Camilo Cascolan on Monday disclosed that the nine cops who murdered four military intelligence officers had been slapped with administrative complaints, almost two months after the incident took place.
READ: Cops in Jolo shooting hit with administrative complaints
Their police superiors were hit with the same for gross neglect of duty under the doctrine of command responsibility, which the senator called "an important step forward in achieving justice not only for the fallen soldiers but also for the 14 people killed in the twin bombing incidents in Jolo."
"Authorities investigating these two incidents should be provided a free rein so they could conduct an impartial, comprehensive, and independent investigation. This is why I continue to call on the PNP leadership to temporarily relieve the entire Jolo, Sulu police force," the senator's statement read.
"The four soldiers were tracking the two female suicide bombers who later allegedly carried out the deadly Jolo blasts when they were shot to death by PNP personnel at a checkpoint. There is a deep connection between these two events. What we need is a complete investigation without any cover-ups for us to find out what really happened, who was responsible, and stop this kind of violence from happening moving forward," it also said.
Almost a month after the incident, the National Bureau of Investigation had already filed murder raps against the nine cops involved in the shooting, although PNP leadership had yet to slap administrative suspensions on them.
READ: Hontiveros: Suspend entire Jolo police station amid probe into bombings
At his first press briefing as the country's top cop Monday, Cascolan acknowledged the impacts on the public's confidence in the agency, saying: "We know [and] we feel the uncertainties of the public we are sworn to protect."
For Hontiveros, the only way to build this up would be through an impartial investigation that would necessitate the suspension of all cops possibly involved.
"That way, the public's fears will be alleviated and any speculation that terrorists have entered our Philippine National Police will be dispelled. I urge the PNP to undertake all necessary measures that will build back public confidence in our national police force after such a troubling event," Hontiveros said. — Franco Luna
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