8th ID commander hails DOJ probe report

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  - Major General Mario Chan, commander of the Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division on Tuesday hailed the Justice Department fact-finding report exonerating troops of the 19th Infantry Battalion of any liability in the killing of the country's renowned botanist Dr. Leonardo Co and his two companions on November 15 last year.

The military had insisted that soldiers of the 19th IB got into a firefight with New People's Army rebels at a forested area of Brgy. Lim-ao in Kananga town of Leyte and the team of Co got caught in the crossfire resulting in their deaths. Two other companions of Co had survived.

Chan, in a chance interview at the Leyte Capitol, said it was a legitimate military operation against the rebels and that the DOJ report clearing the soldiers from any liability has boosted the morale of the troops that inspires them further to pursue the anti-insurgency campaign in Eastern Visayas.

"We are happy with this development over speculations earlier blaming the military in the killing of the three personnel of the Energy Development Corporation who were caught in the crossfire of the said encounter. This was answered by the parallel investigation conducted by the NBI, PNP, CIDG and the Commission on Human Rights, while we showed our cooperation in the investigation," Chan said.

Chan said there were no lapses on the part of the military on the rules of engagement in terms of coordination with the EDC management before carrying out the military operation. "I don't think na nagkulang kami sa coordination with the EDC," he said.

The DOJ's 26-page report---done by a panel consisting of Assistant State Prosecutors Diosdado Solidum Jr. and Jacinto Cacha, and Romulo Asis of the NBI's Death and Investigation Division---declared that the 42 soldiers involved in the clash were not responsible for the death of Co, Sofronio Cortez and Julius Borromeo.

It has recommended that a charge of reckless imprudence be filed against the Lopez-owned company, as it pointed out that EDC was liable for failing to secure its personnel, despite prior knowledge that rebels have been patroling the forests in the vicinity of the firm's geothermal sites.

The DOJ panel finally recommended that the insurgents involved in the encounter be made liable instead for the murder of Co, Cortez and Borromeo. — Miriam Garcia Desacada

AFP Central Command chief, Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva, in a press statement the other day said that, with the soldiers formally charged as reported, he hoped the "concerned soldiers, like all accused, will also be accorded by the public with the presumption of innocence." (FREEMAN)