NPA initiated Butuan Good Friday encounter, joint inquiry concludes

From InterAksyon (Apr 6): NPA initiated Butuan Good Friday encounter, joint inquiry concludes

BUTUAN CITY – The Police Regional Office or PRO 13 here released the findings of the joint investigation on the Good Friday encounter, pointing to the New People’s Army (NPA) as the instigator of the incident that led to the death of two militiamen and endangered thousands of civilians in Sitio Iyao, Barangay Anticala.

Police Chief Supt. Getulio Napenas, regional director PRO13, revealed the report and conclusion of the joint investigating body that was created right after the March 29 clash, which happened as people were marking Good Friday.

“The investigating body concluded that the encounter was initiated by the NPA and not between the elements of the 3rd Special Forces (SF) and the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB), contrary to what the other side claimed,” said Napenas.

Napenas noted the result of the investigation was based on a technical and scientific process conducted by the joint task force led by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) and a team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

"The militiamen that was killed was together with the SF team providing perimeter security while on the other side of the 3rd station of the cross was our RPSB team. Measurement of the bullet trajectory gathered by SOCO in the crime scene suggests it was not fired based on the position of both security teams but from a third party,” he said.

The police regional director also added that police personnel in the area during the encounter even heard someone shout, “Kuhaa ang armas sa naigo,” believed to be a conversation between one of the alleged assassins and his comrade,whom he was directing to get the firearm of the dead militiaman.

The PRO13 also revealed that their regional investigation and detection team did not participate in the fact-finding body to assure the credibility of the investigation.

The joint investigation body was created after Jorge Madlos, better known as Ka Oris, spokesman of the National Democratic Front-Mindanao, called for an inquiry, claiming the attack was not initiated by the NPA and suggesting it was a misencounter between government troops.

Far from fiction

The PRO 13 also warned the public against believing rumors after several scenarios on text messages and on social media sites began circulating.

"Several unscrupulous individuals began fabricating stories on what really happened. A story like it was just a grand design by the soldiers and the police as a propaganda campaign against the NPA; or the devotees were ambushed by government forces. Several even suggested an assassination attempt or a plot to discredit certain individuals. These are all fiction, stories meant to distort the truth,” said PSupt Martin Gamba, public information officer PRO13. “The truth is far from fiction, it was not a TV soap opera drama that was just created but lives of people were at stake on that fateful morning.”

Probability of misencounter

Gamba said the investigation report revealed there was indeed a probability of a misencounter between security forces, but this did not persist for long.

“The report suggested that there was indeed a probability of a misencounter between government forces but it was for a very brief period of time after fatal shots were fired that killed the two militiamen. Both the SF and RPSB teams immediately recognized each other through password and countersign, averting further injury and loss of life through friendly fire,” said Gamba.

Payback time

"I don’t think the killing of the two militiamen was by chance, it was a payback. The killed militiamen, Ariel Andohoyan and Ernie Darasin, were members of the Special Civilian Active Auxiliary (SCAA). They were our guides when we conducted our operation in the area leading to the capture of two large NPA camps in Sitio Patagon in barangay Anticala earlier last March,” said Nepanas.

The police regional director believes the bullet was meant for the two militiamen since the first sniper shot immediately took down the SCAA.

“According to the soldiers in the field, the two brave SCAA’s who were killed were very effective in their work in guiding the SF’s in their operations. We are certain that they were the targets of the NPA,” he said.

This was confirmed by 1st Lieutenant Joe Patrick Martinez, commanding officer of the 42nd Civil Military Operations Company. He said the slain SCAAs were part of the team that led the SF in capturing the NPA camps in the same barangay where they were killed.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/58807/npa-initiated-butuan-good-friday-encounter-joint-inquiry-concludes