MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police will not relieve its officers assigned to Jolo, where twin bombings on killed more than a dozen people, and maintains full confidence in them.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday called for the suspension of all personnel of the Jolo Municipal Police Station in light of the bombings and of a shooting in June where police officers killed Army intelligence personnel who were on a misison to track down potential suicide bombers.
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"Unless there is sufficient evidence establishing criminal involvement or administrative lapses leading to the attack, the PNP maintains full confidence in our ground personnel," Police Gen. Archie Gamboa, PNP chief, said in a statement to reporters.
"We cannot turn away from this. The targets of the June 29 mission were two female bombers. Investigations into the August 24 bombing show that it was perpetrated by two female bombers. Straight question: did terrorist elements somehow influence, directly or indirectly, the killing of the soldiers?" Hontiveros said in a privilege speech Wednesday.
She said that suspending the municipal police personnel would help address speculation and allow a freer investigation into the blasts.
Hontiveros noted that nine police officers involved in the June 29 shooting that cops initially reported as a shootout have not been suspended.
The National Bureau of Investigation filed a murder and planting of evidence complaint against the nine officers in July.
In a statement Thursday, Hontiveros' party Akbayan also called for the removal of the Jolo police, saying "the Armed Forces of the Philippines' admission that the twin blasts in Sulu were carried out by two female suicide bombers, whom the slain Army intelligence officers were tracking last June, confirms our worst fears."
"If only the AFP intel officers had not been murdered by Mr. Rodrigo Duterte's rogue Philippine National Police personnel, the horrible terrorist attack could have been prevented," Akbayan chairperson emerita Etta Rosales said.
According to an Inquirer.net report on Tuesday quoting Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana — Philippine Army chief — the suicide bombers in the blasts on Monday had been the subject of the Army intelligence operation in June.