SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao del Sur — Two minors were wounded in a shooting involving police personnel at a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint in Barangay Poblacion II, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, on Friday afternoon, September 11, with authorities and the victims’ relatives giving conflicting accounts of how the incident unfolded.
The two minors, identified by the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-BARMM) as aliases “Sop” and “Abs,” both residents of Barangay Kitango in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, were taken to the Bangsamoro Regional and Medical Center for treatment after sustaining gunshot wounds.
According to the police account, the incident happened at about 3 p.m. while personnel of the Shariff Aguak Municipal Police Station were conducting a Comelec checkpoint as part of the enforcement of the election-period gun ban.
Police said they noticed a motorcycle without a license plate carrying two male riders who allegedly acted suspiciously and attempted to evade the checkpoint.
The motorcycle driver allegedly refused to stop when ordered by police and instead accelerated, nearly hitting one of the officers manning the checkpoint, according to authorities.
Police personnel then pursued the motorcycle. During the chase, the passenger allegedly drew a firearm and fired at the pursuing officers, prompting the police to return fire.
The two riders were eventually cornered along a narrow road in Sitio Bako, Barangay Poblacion II, where both sustained gunshot wounds, according to the police.
They were subsequently taken into custody and brought to the Bangsamoro Regional and Medical Center for medical attention.
Police said they recovered a caliber .45 pistol and one spent cartridge casing from the scene. Shariff Aguak police chief Maj. Joel Lebrilla maintained that a shootout had occurred and said the firearm recovered from the incident would form part of the evidence being examined by investigators.
Authorities also said the two minors would undergo paraffin testing to determine whether they had recently fired a firearm.
The PNP BARMM further alleged that the two minors were linked to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Dawlah Islamiyah-Hassan Group, which police claimed had been associated with carnapping and robbery incidents in the province. The allegation had not been independently established in the information provided.
Possible charges being considered by authorities include assault against police officers performing checkpoint duties, illegal possession of firearms, violation of the Comelec gun ban, and resistance and disobedience to a person in authority.
Family disputes police version
The families of the two minors, however, strongly disputed the police account and said the teenagers were not involved in any criminal activity.
Munky Shaffer Jego, who identified himself as a witness to the incident, said the two minors were students and were not doing anything wrong when they passed through the checkpoint.
Jego claimed that the two did not stop because they allegedly had no driver’s license and lacked documents for the motorcycle. He appealed to authorities and other concerned agencies to assist the families in establishing what actually happened.
A relative, Morsid M. Kipes, also posted an account on social media alleging that the minors were shot by police after failing to stop at the checkpoint because they became afraid they would be apprehended over the motorcycle.
Kipes questioned the circumstances of the shooting, particularly the location of the wounds, and appealed for an investigation. He also said one of the minors was his nephew and had aspirations of finishing his education and eventually becoming a police officer.
The family’s account directly contradicts the police claim that the passenger fired first at the pursuing officers.
Investigation crucial amid conflicting accounts
The conflicting narratives make an independent and thorough investigation particularly important, especially because the persons wounded in the incident are minors.
The police maintain that the shooting was a response to an armed attack during a checkpoint operation and that a caliber .45 firearm was recovered. The families, meanwhile, maintain that the minors were unarmed students who were shot after allegedly failing to stop at the checkpoint.
The recovered firearm, cartridge casing, medical records, ballistic examination, paraffin-test results, photographs and other forensic evidence may help investigators establish whether the weapon was fired and, if so, who fired it. Statements from police personnel, witnesses and residents in the area could also be critical in reconstructing the sequence of events.
The circumstances surrounding the reported gunfire, including the exact distance between the police and the motorcycle, the direction and location of the gunshots, and the nature and position of the minors’ wounds, are matters that should be established through evidence rather than competing claims.
As of publication, the information provided does not include an independent finding resolving the conflicting accounts.
Because the incident involves minors, allegations of criminal involvement should likewise be treated as allegations unless established through competent evidence and appropriate legal proceedings.
The case remains under investigation.