MANILA, Philippines - Four senior officers of the Army Special Forces have been recommended to face general court martial in connection with the debacle in Al-Barka, Basilan last Oct. 18 that left 19 soldiers dead in an ambush by Moro rebels and lawless elements.
Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the recommendation to subject the four senior officers to a military trial was approved last Saturday by just retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr.
Burgos said the Court of Inquiry (COI) was able to beat the deadline in submitting its recommendations which Oban approved before he retired on Monday.
Burgos, however, declined to name the four Special Forces officers pending the official transmission of the COI’s recommendations to higher authorities and their formal notification.
Prior to the military trial, the four officers are entitled to a pre-trial investigation where they are required to submit their counter-affidavits.
Aside from the military trial, Oban also admonished the four officers by effectively holding off their promotions for at least one year, according to military rules.
As per the COI recommendations, the officers will stand military trial in violation of Articles of War No. 97 or conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman in conjunction with Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code for acts of negligence that prejudice good order and military discipline.
Oban convened the COI chaired by Commodore Chris Mercado, the AFP Deputy Inspector General, in lieu of the initial investigation conducted by the AFP Inspector General headed by Maj. Gen. Ireneo Espino, to probe deeper and find out if operational lapses were committed by the senior Special Forces officers directly behind the Al-Barka operation.
After the Basilan carnage, Lt. Col. Leo Peña, commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion based in Basilan, was relieved of his post. This was followed by the sacking of Col. Alexander Macario, commander of Special Task Force Basilan.
Sources said Peña and Macario are among the four officers facing court martial. The two others are based in Nueva Ecija.
Both Peña and Macario have expressed their willingness to face the military court if only to clear their names.
Peña was the ground commander of the Special Forces assaulting force going after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) 114th Base Command deputy commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi, who escaped from the Basilan jail; Abu Sayyaf leader Furuji Indama; and kidnapping gang leader Long Malat.
The soldiers, mostly from the Special Forces Training School based in Nueva Ecija, were approaching Barangay Cambog in Al-Barka town in the early morning of Oct. 18 when they were waylaid.
Fighting erupted, lasting for more than nine hours, with hundreds of MILF rebels reinforcing their colleagues in pinning down the Special Forces troops.
Prior to carrying out the operation, sources said Peña, as ground commander, got an assurance from his immediate superiors that coordination had been made with the MILF in the area.
“Peña was assured by his superiors that the MILF would not interfere or move against our troops,” one of the sources said, adding that this was the reason why the troops were only lightly armed then. - By Jaime Laude
