Purisima orders Sulu ambush investigation

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima yesterday ordered a thorough investigation into the massacre of 23 people by Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu on Eid’l Fitr.

Purisima directed the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Management (DIDM) to investigate what happened in the ambush and how the territorial police acted on the situation.

 “The PNP chief instructed the DIDM to look into what actually happened. We will find out if there were lapses and if evidence warrant, they will be made answerable for their actions,” Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP spokesman, said in a briefing.

Purisima issued the order after Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan accused the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police of negligence that led to the massacre of the 23 people, mostly women and children.

“The investigation would determine if there were infractions and lapses. Was everything done according to procedure?” Sindac said.