Officer quits post to take blame for deaths of bandit’s wife, kids

From Malaya (Nov 5): Officer quits post to take blame for deaths of bandit’s wife, kids

AN Army officer has resigned from his post as battalion commander weeks after his men killed the wife and two children of a bandit leader in a firefight in Davao del Sur last month. Lt. Col. Noel Alexis Bravo offered to relinquish his post as head of the 27th Infantry Battalion so as not to influence legal procedures against his men who were directly involved in the incident, Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, said yesterday. Bravo has been cleared of responsibility in the incident which occurred last October 18. Military officials have said the soldiers were approaching a hut in Sitio Alion, Barangay Kimlawis in Kiblawan town, which was supposedly serving as lair of Daquil Capeon, when they were fired at by at least five suspects, prompting the soldiers to return fire.  The military has said Capeon is a leader of an armed group associated with the New People’s Army. Bernardo said Bravo also asked to be relieved so that other officers can rise to become battalion commander. Bravo is scheduled to be replaced today by Lt. Col. Shalimar Imperial.... The board later cleared Bravo of any responsibility but at the same time recommended the court martial of his company commander, 1Lt. Dante Jimenez, and 12 enlisted personnel who took part in the operation, for lapses even if it established that the incident was a “legitimate encounter....”

http://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/16817-officer-quits-post-to-take-blame-for-deaths-of-bandits-wife-kids