PNP, CHR to probe death of Abu Sayyaf in Bohol

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be conducting separate investigations into the escape and subsequent death of an alleged Abu Sayyaf member less than 24 hours after he was arrested, top officials from the two agencies said on Friday, May 5. 

Police arrested Saad Samad Kiram Thursday morning, May 4, after a resident alerted authorities to his presence.

Kiram was among the Abu Sayyaf who travelled via pump boat to Bohol from Sulu in Mindanao. The terrorist group supposedly planned to kidnap tourists in the island province.

Less than 24 hours after his arrest, however, Kiram was gunned down by police after he supposedly attempted to grab the gun of a policeman who was tracking him down after an escape attempt.

Police said they were en route to a Bohol provincial detention center at around 2 in the morning on Friday, May 5, when Kiram complained of a stomach ache, prompting them to stop the vehicle.

Despite the presence of police guarding him, including members of the local SWAT, Kiram fled. He was killed more than two hours later at 4:30 in the morning, because he tried to steal the gun of a cop. 

Security sources showed Rappler a photo of a deceased Kiram wearing the same shirt he wore upon his arrest. The picture shows Kiram with gunshot wound right in the middle of his forehead.

Central Visayas regional chief Noli Taliño said on Friday that police will be investigated upon the orders of national police chief Ronald dela Rosa. Taliño noted that this was “normal procedure.”

In a separate chance interview with reporters the same day, CHR chairman Chito Gascon said upon the recommendation of the CHR in Central Visayas, an investigation would also be launched by the Constitutional body. The CHR is mandated to check on alleged abuses by state forces.

CHR Central Visatas director Arvin Odron, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, questioned the circumstances surrounding Kiram’s death.

“The person was already arrested, and yet why did he die? That is death in the hands of a law enforcement body or the government – the same entity which is supposed to serve and protect its people regardless of status, whether criminal or not,” the Inquirer quoted him as saying. – Rappler.com