The Philippine National Police (PNP) will deploy a battalion of its elite personnel in Sulu to assist the military and the local police force in securing the province and in running after those involved in the twin bombings in Jolo that left 14 security forces and civilians dead and more than 75 others wounded.
PNP spokesman Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the SAF battalion is composed of 348 fully-equipped and well-trained personnel who are all tasked to intensify the security and manhunt against the Abu Sayyaf Group and the terrorists that the group has been coddling.
“These personnel were already informed to prepare for deployment anytime now to Sulu,” said Banac.
He said half of the battalion will come from the SAF headquarters in Taguig City while the other half are composed of SAF commandos assigned in various areas in western part of Mindanao.
Aside from police commandos, Banac said experts from the Philippine Bomb Data Center (PBDC) and Crime Laboratory will also be sent to Sulu to assist in the investigation of the bombings that were confirmed to have been perpetrated by suicide bombers.
“The PBDC analysts will seek to determine any specific bomb signature of the explosives that were detonated based on reconstruction of forensic evidence gathered by Crime Laboratory and other security forces that responded to the incident,” said Banac.
Banac said the additional deployment is a proof of the PNP’s commitment to address terrorism in Sulu amid allegation that the death of the four military intelligence operatives at the hands of the local police force gave the terrorists the opportunity to carry out the bombings.
Banac explained that the PNP has always been a partner of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in running after terror groups in Mindanao.
In fact, he said there were successful joint operations between the police and the military against the ASG and other terror groups.
“The investigation (on the death of the four military intelligence operatives) is ongoing and right now, our focus is to bring justice to those who died and were injured which include our own personnel,” said Banac.