THE joint investigation into the misencounter that killed six young police officers will look into the coordination mechanism between the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr., in a press conference on Tuesday, June 26, said the Board of Inquiry will look into the incident itself as well as into the "operations and strategic ramifications of that incident."
Durana said the aim is to avoid a similar incident in the future. Six rookie police officers were killed while nine others were wounded when soldiers from the 87th Infantry Battalion mistakenly ambushed a platoon from the Regional Mobile Force Group on June 25.
The misencounter occurred in Sta. Rita town in Samar, where both units were conducting patrol operations due to reports of the presence of armed men in the area.
Durana said there is an existing coordination mechanism between the PNP and the AFP.
"The SOP (standard operating procedure) in areas where both PNP and AFP units operate, there is closer coordination. Even before you jump off for an operation, you have to coordinate with the territorial forces (which is the PNP and the forces AOR (area of operation), and vice versa. It is highly confidential, but this is the SOP that we have established with the AFP
"Whether this coordination mechanism was, or is, in place, and how effective it is will be the subject of the investigation," he said.
Durana said the SOP in areas where both the police and military operate calls for closer coordination.
He said the PNP and the AFP should at least share information.
"Not only information but also capability. Because there are instances that require law enforcement support and also probably the muscle of the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he added.
Military officials earlier said the soldiers learned too late that they were shooting it out with the police.
As SOP, both the police and military inform other units whenever they are under fire to determine whether other units are nearby. It was only then that the Army learned that there was a police unit in the area and the police had also figured in an encounter.
Police investigation is being conducted by the Board of Inquiry in coordination with the Special Investigation Task Force formed by the Eastern Visayas Police Regional Office.
The Board of Inquiry will closely coordinate with its counterpart in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Durana said.
Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte cleared the military, saying "nobody wanted (the misencounter" to happen." (MVI/SunStar Philippines)