The Philippine Army, particularly the 72nd Infantry
Battalion, placed under arrest on Friday, March 11, a soldier and four members
of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) who were accused of
torturing a farmer in Malita, Davao Occidental.
10th Infantry (Agila) Division chief information officer
Captain Rhyan Batchar told reporters here on Friday that the arrest was
pursuant to Articles of War 70.
“They shall be restricted to barracks to ensure their
appearances while the investigations are on-going,” Batchar pointed out.
The suspects are now in custody at the battalion’s
headquarters in Barangay Tuboran, Mawab, Compostela Valley
The soldier, identified as Corporal Sandy Batolbatol and the
four CAFGU members, who are not yet identified by the army until the
investigations are concluded, were accused of torturing a farmer belonging to
Tagakaulo tribe, identified as Orlando Engo in Sitio Matamis, Barangay Demoloc,
Malita town last Feb. 19.
The incident was just reported last March 9 through the
social media by Fr. Joey Ganio Evangelista, MJ of Malita Tagakaulo Mission in
Davao Occidental.
A video of the alleged torture was also posted in the social
media. Engo was falsely accused of sending his fourteen-year-old grandson, Ian,
to steal from a store in Sitio Matamis.
“We are shocked and saddened by the actions of our soldier
and CAFGUs perpetrated against Orlando Engo and his two grandsons as shown in a
Facebook post. We are further enraged by their acts as described by Father Joey
Gánio Evangelista, MJ of Malita Tagakaulo Mission in the said Facebook post,”
the 10th ID said in a statement.
Major General Rafael Valencia, commander of 10th ID
immediately ordered the investigation and the custody of those involved in the
incident, Lt. Col. Norman Zuniega the Civil-Military Operations (CMO) commander
of the 10th ID also told reporters on Friday.
Zuniega added that the command lauded the courage of Fr.
Evangelista in reporting the incident, adding that: “We could have acted on it
if it was reported earlier.”
He said that such incidents were sometimes not monitored by
the command due to its wide area of coverage.
The 10th ID covers the whole of Davao
region including parts of the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Bukinon, Sarangani,
North Cotabato and South Cotabato .
“Due process of law shall be strictly observed in the
investigation and when evidence warrants they will be prosecuted with the full
force of military justice, including trial by Courts-Martial. The soldier and
the CAAs are subject to military laws,” the 10th ID statement further said.
The command also gave an assurance that the on-going probe
will not prejudice any investigation that may be conducted by other agencies
and shall make available the soldier and CAAs for such investigation.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=865979
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