Philippine Army to look into gaps in recruitment, training process after Camp Evangelista shooting

The Philippine Army (PA) said Sunday it will look into possible gaps in its recruitment and training processes, following the shooting incident in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro which killed five soldiers.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, PA spokesperson Xerxes Trinidad said that the Board of Inquiry (BOI) would conduct an internal probe to determine what triggered the shooting.

He said the PA also wants to improve its recruitment process to avoid a repeat of the incident.

“Gusto nating alamin talaga ‘yung case na ‘to, kung ano talaga ang nag-trigger doon sa insidente na ‘yun at malaman natin kung ano talaga ang gaps natin in our recruitment and training process,” he said.

(We really want to determine what happened in this case, what really triggered that incident, and what are the gaps in our recruitment and training process.)

“Isa nating tinitignan ‘yung aspeto na kung saan itong ating mga bagong private at lahat naman ng mga recruits ay nagu-undergo ng examination and screening to include ‘yung entire medical and screening nila pati na rin ang pisikal. Tinitignan din natin ang kanilang training kung saan natin mas makikita na mas mapaigting na magkaroon ng resiliency after the training,” he added.

(We are looking at the aspect of how the new privates and all the recruits undergo examination and screening, including their entire medical and screening, and physical [exam]. We will also look at their training to see how we can improve their resilience.)

On Saturday, a soldier attacked and opened fire on his fellow servicemen who were asleep in their room at the Service Center Battalion Headquarters in Camp Evangelista. Five soldiers were killed in the incident, including the suspect, and one other soldier was injured.

“Itong isang sundalo na ito ay isang private. Siya ay biglang binaril ang mga natutulog na sundalo. At the same time, nagkaron ng konting…he was trying to be subdued ng kanyang kasamahan, dalawang private. During that event, napatay din siya,” Trinidad explained.

(This soldier was a private. He suddenly shot the sleeping soldiers. Two of his comrades, both privates, tried to subdue him. During that event, the suspect was also killed.)

He said families of the killed soldiers were already informed of the incident. —KG, GMA Integrated News