PDEA Director Dionisio Santiago told radio station DXMS that his request for DILG to conduct a thorough probe was based on the testimonies made by some of their witnesses.
The witnesses, whose identities were withheld for security reasons, told PDEA in Region 12 that they saw these village officials carrying firearms and shooting the agents morning of April 13 at Barangay Dumalangcob in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.
Santiago, however, refused to divulge the names of the alleged barangay officials.
“We just want to know the truth. They (village officials) should be investigated,” he said.
Santiago also said they were “double-crossed” by their own civilian informant.
“Based on our investigations, this informant who used to work with us was connected to a drug ring,” he stressed in a radio interview.
On April 13, at around 5 a.m., two PDEA-12 intelligence operatives were killed while two others were hurt when attacked by still unidentified gunmen in Barangay Dumalangcob.
Killed were PDEA-12 Intelligence Officer 2 Pablo June Jala and a confidential agent identified only as Tho.
Wounded were IO3 Brian Babang and IO1 Mark Anthony Viray who are now undergoing treatment at a hospital in Cotabato City. Doctors have pronounced them to be in stable condition.
They were ambushed as they were on their way to serve a warrant of arrest against one Piad Buaya Abdula, alias Piad, in the vicinity of Simuay town.
Jala was a member of PDEA Academy’s Unang Sinag Class of 2006-01; Babang was a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2001; and Viray belongs to PDEA Academy Masidlak Class 2008-03. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)