Officer, 8 soldiers sacked over killings.
by RAPPLER.COM
October 19, 2012

MANILA, Philippines (CORRECTED) – The military relieved from their posts 9 soldiers including a lieutenant over the supposed encounter near a mining site in Davao del Sur that claimed the lives of 3 civilians, two of them minors.

Lt Col Lyndon Paniza, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said a board of inquiry was formed after the incident on Thursday, October 18. Paniza said the investigation aims to determine if the soldiers violated the military’s rules of engagement.

“This is also our assurance to the public,” Paniza said. “We will see to it that someone will be held accountable for this. You cannot simply dismiss this as collateral damage. There were lapses and somebody has to answer for this.”

Paniza was earlier quoted as saying that among those relieved were Lt Col Alex Bravo, the battalion commander, and Lt Dante Jimenez, the company commander.

But Army chief Lt Gen Emmanuel Bautista told Rappler that only Jimenez, the company commander, had been temporarily relieved from his post pending the results of the investigation.

Sought for clarification, 10th Army Division commander Brig Gen Ariel Bernardo told Rappler that Bravo was only recalled to headquarters on Friday, October 19, but that he was not among those immediately relieved since he was not directly involved in the operations.

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