Ex-army chief goes to bat for officers in Al Barka ambush

From the Manila Times (Nov 28): Ex-army chief goes to bat for officers in Al Barka ambush

FORMER Army chief Lt. Gen. (ret.) Arturo Ortiz yesterday took the witness stand in defense of a senior officer who is being tried by a general court martial in connection with last year’s bungled operation in Al Barka, Basilan, which left 19 soldiers dead. Ortiz, the first witness to be presented by the defense, told the military tribunal that he has given a general directive to operating troops to take the initiative in combat operations, implying that the operation conducted in Basilan by the Special Forces, then headed by Col. Aminkadra Undug, was in line with his guidance. Ortiz, himself a Special Forces officer who is a recipient of the highest military decoration Medal of Valor, said he even offered P1 million in additional funds to Army units in case of a major accomplishment. Undug was one of four officers charged in connection with the bungled operation. The three others were Col. Alexander Macario, then commander of the Special Operations Task Force Basilan; Lt. Col. Orlando Edralin, then commander of Special Forces Training School; and Lt. Col. Leo Pena, then commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion. They were initially charged with violation of Articles of War 96 (conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman), 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline), and 84 (willful or neglect loss, damage or wrongful disposition).

Last October, the court cleared Macario and Edralin of the charges for insufficiency of evidence. It also dismissed all the charges against Undog, except AW 97 which is in relation to his authority to deploy students of the Military Scuba Diving Course for the operation. Col. Feliciano Loy, the court’s law member, said Ortiz was presented by Undug “as part of his testimonial evidence.” “Basically, he (Ortiz) said that he has standing guidance to operating troops to take the initiatives in combat operations,” Loy said. But Ortiz did not discuss Undug’s authority to employ the scuba diving students for the operation.  Interviewed after the proceedings, Ortiz said he offered to defend Undug. He also expressed hope the court would clear Undug, “a very good, competent officer,” and Pena who is also a “good officer.” Ortiz said he felt sorry for the officers as the trial has set back their careers. He said Undug should have been already a one-star or even a two-star general already if not for the incident.

During yesterday’s proceedings, the court denied Pena’s motion for finding of not guilty with respect to the charges of violation of AW 97, AW 84 or willful or neglect loss, damage or wrongful disposition. However, the court granted Pena’s motion to dismiss the charge of violation of AW 96, saying he has not done anything that tended to cause dishonor or disgrace. The court’s ruling said Pena “has a lot of explanation to do with respect to AW 84 and AW 97.” Loy said the military court gave Pena until December 3 to file a motion for reconsideration. Undug, Pena, Macario and Edralin were ordered relieved by the military leadership from their posts for serious operational lapses committed in the conduct of the operations in October 18 last year. The soldiers were serving arrest warrants against a small group of Abu Sayyaf and rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front when fighting erupted. As fighting progressed, the enemy strength swelled to about 400, outnumbering the soldiers who were only about a hundred.

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