PNP chief seeks closure on Samar misencounter

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde is hoping to put closure to the misencounter in Samar that left six policemen dead.

“We want to put closure to this. Nobody wanted it to happen,” Albayalde said in an interview with reporters yesterday.

Albayalde said it is too early to tell if criminal charges will be filed against those involved in incident.

“There are still no findings on that,” he said.

The PNP has yet to release the findings of the probe body that investigated the misencounter.

Army troops mistakenly killed six policemen and wounded nine others whom they thought were New People’s Army guerrillas operating in the hinterlands of Sta. Rita, Samar last month.

A source said the probe has been hampered as the military has yet to submit the firearms used by the soldiers involved in the incident for examination.

“The investigating team sent letter requesting for the firearms to be turned over about three days ago. There is still no reply,” a police official said.

Probers are also waiting for the written testimonies of the superiors of the soldiers.

The source said police investigators would wait for feedback from the military this week.

If there is no response, the source said the probers would wrap up their investigation by next week.