PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. ordered police personnel on Friday, September 2, 2022, to conduct environmental scanning to identify the risks before the implementation of operations to ensure their safety.Azurin said this is also to avoid incidents similar to the Ampatuan ambush, which resulted in the killing of two policemen including the town’s chief of police.“You should conduct environmental scanning because while it is true na kailangan ay gampanan ‘yung trabaho natin ay huwag rin natin sacrifice ‘yung security natin. So if we need more people to enter the area gawin natin,” he said.(You should conduct environmental scanning because while it is true that we need to do our job, we should not sacrifice our security. So if we need more people to enter the area, let’s do it.)Lieutenant Reynaldo Samson, chief of the Ampatuan Municipal Police Station and Corporal Salipuden Endab were killed while two other police personnel were wounded in an ambush in Barangay Kapinpilan on Tuesday morning, August 30, as the PNP conducted a simultaneous service of 12,699 arrest warrants across the country.The simultaneous operations resulted in the arrest of 4,035 wanted individuals.The team was about to serve an arrest warrant for robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons when waylaid by heavily armed suspects.Azurin said six suspects, who were all members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) with outstanding arrest warrants, have been tagged in the incident.He has ordered the immediate filing of charges amid the continuous conduct of hot pursuit operations against the suspects.Azurin also urged the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro government to surrender the members of the BIFF responsible for the incident.“We expect them na they are embracing the government, they will be joining in the peace and security of our country and one way of showing that is ipakita po nila na free po ang ating mga kapulisan na pumasok doon sa sinasabi nila na ‘yung territory nila or mga kampo nila,” he said.(We expect them to embrace the government, they will be joining in the peace and security of our country and one way of showing that is to show them that our police are free to enter “their territory” or “their camp.”)“Kung gusto po nila na tayo po ay magkaisa, tulungan nila kami na isurrender po ang kanilang mga kasamahan… So at their end, we are appealing to them kung puwede magkaroon din sila ng cleansing sa kanilang mga ranks. Alam naman nila kung sino ‘yung may kaso sa kanila, i-surrender na nila para hindi na maulit ‘yung mga ganitong insidente. This time, sabi ko nga we need also reciprocity from them. So by surrendering ‘yung mga tao nila, that’s part of the reciprocity that we are expecting from them,” he added.(If they want us to unite, they should help us surrender their colleagues… So at their end, we are appealing to them if they can also have a cleansing within their ranks. They know who has a case against them. Surrender them so that such incidents do not happen again. This time, we also need reciprocity from them. Surrendering their people is part of the reciprocity that we are expecting from them.) (SunStar Philippines)