Defense chief orders probe of Fort Bonifacio shooting

MANILA, Philippines - Worried by an Army soldier’s rampage that left three of his senior officers dead and one wounded, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro ordered the military to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

Teodoro also said the shooting only indicates there is a need for military officials to review the psychological care given the soldiers, particularly those exposed in the frontlines.

“There’s no covering up for this. We really need to have adequate psychological help here,” he said.

Teodoro also said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should improve screening procedures to determine the psychological fitness of every soldier.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., Army spokesman, said charges of triple murder and frustrated murder are being readied against Sgt. Elias Tial.

Tial, whose father died last Saturday in their home province in Iloilo, shot dead 1st Lieutenant Gerald Fuentes, Capt. Dionico Aragon Jr., and M/Sgt. Elesio de la Cruz Wednesday evening in their temporary barracks at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, apparently after not being immediately allowed to go home to attend his father’s wake.

Tial’s commanding officer, Capt. Benito Ramos, who survived the attack, is confined at the Makati Medical Center.

Tial and the slain officers all belong to the Army’s Special Operations Command, an elite unit actively engaged in counter-insurgency operations. The team is in Metro Manila to prepare for the upcoming Philippine Army anniversary.

Tial escaped after the shooting and remains at large.

At present, the military conducts neuropsychiatric examinations for the troops once every three years to coincide with their retraining.    – Jaime Laude