Raps filed vs. Army officers, others over ‘Lake Sebu massacre’

Three Army officers and at least four others face criminal charges for their alleged involvement in the deaths of seven indigenous peoples in a "massacre" in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato last year.

Assisted by the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), the relatives of the dead and the wounded Lumad lodged complaints for seven counts of murder, two counts of frustrated murder, and one for arbitrary detention before the Department of Justice on Thursday.

The complainants named as respondents Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, commanding officer of the Philippine Army's 33rd Infantry Battalion; Lieutenant  Colonel Benjamin Leander, commanding officer of the Army's 27th Infantry Battalion; Major General Noel Clement, commanding general of the Army's 10th Infantry Division; unnamed military personnel and four others.

The complaint was in connection with the deaths of Datu Victor Danyan Sr., Victor Danyan Jr.,  Artemio Danyan, Tho Diamante, Mateng Bontal, Pato Ceralbo, Samuel Angkoy and the gunshot injuries of Bosing Danyan and Jeffrey Danyan, all of the T'Boli, Dulangan Manobo, and B'laan groups, in an incident on Dec. 3, 2017.

The military earlier described the incident as an encounter between government troops and seven suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA). Two soldiers were killed and three others were wounded.

Human rights watchdog group Karapatan had warned that the "massacre" of Lumad tribesmen could happen again given the continued implementation of martial law over Mindanao.

But then-Armed Forces chief General Rey Leonardo Guerrero had said that he has not received complaints of human rights violations linked to the implementation of martial law in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, the complaint tagged the chief of police and other police personnel of Bagumbayan Police Station in Sultan Kudarat over the alleged arbitrary detention of one Jamel Culano, on December 6, 2017. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News