2 cops in critical condition after Kidapawan dispersal

MANILA, Philippines — Two police officers involved in the bloody dispersal of picketing farmers are in critical condition, adding to the dozens hurt in the clash on the Cotabato-Davao Highway in Kidapawan City on Friday.

"Two of our own police officers are under critical condition due to head trauma, reportedly due to attacks initiated from the assembled crowd," Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said in a statement.

Mayor, who did not name the injured cops, said the PNP has launched an investigation into the incident that caused the death of a farmer and injured several others.

The police said they had repeatedly tried to negotiate first the voluntarily dispersal of the farmers, but failed to persuade them to dismantle their barricades, causing inconvenience to motorists and commuters since day one of their mass actions.

Without any written permit, the farmers converged in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato’s provincial capital, to demand for government relief subsidies, such as rice, seeds of drought-resistant vegetables and other provisions needed to mitigate their hunger.

READ: Farmer dead, dozens hurt in Kidapawan bloody picket dispersal

Mayor said police officers are trained to engage such assembles with maximum tolerance, and are instructed in training not to carry firearms in managing civil disturbance.

"Dialogue is always our primary recourse, Mayor said.

The PNP official added that cops deployed in the area not directly involved in dispersal activities carry firearms but they are trained to exert maximum tolerance.

"In extreme cases, however, especially when the lives of our officers are under immediate threat, all of our policemen are trained to be vigilant and to act our their mandate to maintain peace and order in a calibrated manner," Mayor said.

The PNP vowed to release findings of the investigation and those found guilty of violating rules will penalized.

"We are committed to holding anyone responsible for this tragic incident," the spokesperson said.

The New People's Army, meanwhile, have been tagged by local officials for allegedly urging farmers to join the mass action.