Stopping the blame game
In the ongoing investigation of the bloody "misencounter" between Philippine Army soldiers on and PNP personnel on patrol in Samar where six policemen were killed and nine wounded, they are looking at whether or not an ambush took place because of the advantageous position of the soldiers. Based on the information gathered, the soldiers seem to have positioned themselves well beforehand. Some policemen had head wounds, suggesting they were killed by snipers. The AFP denies that an ambush has taken place. The soldiers have been patrolling the area for five days when they saw the armed men. They immediately took an elevated position before they initiated contact. Why the soldiers would knowingly ambush policemen, if that is what some are suggesting, is beyond me.
According to one of the policemen who survived the "misencounter," the weather was clear and they were wearing their official field uniforms when the soldiers shot at them. There are photographs taken from the cellphone of a policeman showing the police on patrol, looking at maps and with clean uniforms, some with the word "POLICE" clearly on their chest, contrary to statements from soldiers who said they could have mistaken them for NPA rebels because of their muddy uniforms. The survivor said that the soldiers were even taunting them during the gunfight. Perhaps they should have identified themselves as police, if they were within shouting distance?
The AFP and PNP have stressed that they are not out to find fault among the men. Both parties have taken steps to allow the investigations to move forward. The firearms of the 16 soldiers are to be subjected to ballistics testing. PNP Chief Director Gen. Albayalde ordered the relief of the two commanding police officials. What they want to find out if there was coordination between them, but this did not reach the leaders of the two groups. If the soldiers have been patrolling the area for five days, a breakdown in communication might have happened. Obviously they have to learn from this unfortunate incident.
President Duterte has stated that as commander-in-chief of the military and police, the blame falls on him. The buck stops here, so to speak. No one should blame anyone for what happened because it was unintentional, an accident. Upon visiting the wake of the slain policemen, Duterte pleaded with relatives not to hold grudges or be angry over what happened, and just forgive and let the investigation move forward. Murphy's Law was again cited to try and explain what happened. Money and cellphones were given to the families of the six slain policemen. Duterte tried to do everything to defuse the situation. He does not want the incident to be the Mamasapano/SAF 44 of his administration. Roque has said that Duterte took responsibility for the Samar "misencounter" to stop the blame game. Whether or not the families heed Duterte's advice remains to be seen as the investigation moves forward.
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