3 army men killed in attacks by fellow soldiers

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Three Army soldiers were killed in separate shooting incidents involving their own colleagues in the southern and central Philippines, officials said Saturday. In the most serious incident, a sergeant killed two fellow battalion members and wounded five others, including his commander, in a shooting spree Friday in the southern province of Maguindanao, a military spokesman said. Technical Sgt. Policarpio dela Cruz fired his M-16 rifle at more than a dozen other members of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion moments after they arrived at a camp in Barira town, Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce said. Two soldiers were killed trying to shield the others, including battalion commander Lt. Col. Aniceto Vicente, who suffered a minor injury, Ponce said. Dela Cruz, who was critically injured, was under guard in a military hospital, he said. Ponce identified the two fatalities as Sgt. Bernardo de Guzman and Pfc. Christopher Pagatpatan. Wounded along with Vicente were Major Fe Rea, 2Lt. Grace Sumalbang, Sgt. Ronaldo Sarazza and Cpl. Dennis Bergante. Vicente and his officers had just arrived at Camp Iranun in Barangay Tugaig for a regular inspection at 4:30 p.m. Friday when Dela Cruz fired his M16 automatic rifle indiscriminately, said the spokesman. “The incident surprised the infantry men but responded just in time to prevent dela Cruz from (further) firing his assault rifle," he said. Roused from sleep Also Friday in central Cebu city, army Cpl. Jesusito G. Bayang, apparently angered after he was roused from his sleep for cleaning duties, shot and killed his superior, Staff Sgt. Romeo Mendez, said Chief Supt. Lani-O Nerez, the regional police director. Bayang surrendered to an officer and is facing criminal and administrative charges, Nerez said. Armed forces spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said an army commander is visiting the areas where the incidents took place "to find out exactly what happened and to remind the commanders of our duties." He said the military was continuing its peer counseling and grievance systems, and rest and recreation programs to relieve soldiers of combat stress. In other past incidents, soldiers have attacked their comrades or superiors during arguments or over assignments. The attack in Maguindanao appeared unprovoked and could not be attributed to "war shock" because dela Cruz has seen no long-term fighting since being deployed about two months ago to the rebellion-torn southern region, Ponce said. He said dela Cruz, who has been in the army for 20 years, did not exhibit any unusual behavior during the trip to the camp from another Maguindanao town. Ponce, however, said other soldiers in the command post told investigators that they noticed dela Cruz to be mentally disturbed the past few days. “But no one among the soldiers manning the command post ever thought that dela Cruz would go berserk and fire at his comrades," he told reporters. A thorough investigation that is being conducted now will determine the root cause of the tragic incident, he added. Gunbattles between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Maguindanao and nearby provinces have subsided since they announced a suspension of offensives in July to resume peace talks. (- AP and GMANewsTV