SAF man killed in shooting mishap

A member of the elite Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police was killed after being shot by an M-60 machinegun inside Camp Crame early last night.

Sketchy information identified the victim as Police Officer 1 Ferdinand Manolo. He was shot once in the face.

According to PNP chief of public information Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, the victim, along with other SAF officers were preparing to leave their post at the PNP gymnasium inside Camp Crame to their headquarters in Camp Ricardo Papa in Bicutan, Taguig when the shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m.

Bataoil said that as the SAF men were packing up their gear, the loaded machinegun suddenly fired once hitting the victim in the face. He died while being rushed to the nearby base hospital.

Meanwhile, SAF commander Chief Inspector Randy Peralta refused to face reporters and reveal details of the incident despite an order coming from Bataoil to reveal the details of the incident to mediamen.

This led reporters to speculate that the SAF was covering up the incident. It was highly noticeable that the gymnasium was still being used for athletic activities after the incident and was not properly secured as a crime scene by probers. One SAF trooper posted at the gymnasium’s entrance even questioned Bataoil’s order for them to give details of the incident to reporters. The SAF troopers also did not say if it was proper to load weapons while their troops move from one location to another.

The gymnasium was being temporarily used as barracks by the SAF men during their stay at Camp Crame. The SAF were deployed at Camp Crame as an augmentation security force.

Bataoil said the still unidentified suspect was ordered restricted to quarters for investigation following the shooting incident.