Scout Ranger implicated in killings surrenders

Scout Ranger Pfc. Maximo Pasking; who is accused of killing two civilians and wounding two others in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; surrendered to military authorities, said an army spokesman on Wednesday.

 

Spokesperson Maj. Harold Cabunoc said that Pasking, who belongs to the 12th Scout Ranger Company, was picked up at an undisclosed area last week and is now incarcerated at the headquarters of the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) in San Miguel, Bulacan.

 

Cabunoc said that though no arrest warrant had been issued for Pasking, the soldier was placed in detention by the military by virtue of police reports that detailed his involvement in the killings.

 

Cabunoc said the FSRR conducted the initial investigation against Pasking, “He admitted responsibility for the killings. He admitted shooting people in self defense and he is seeking forgiveness for it and he said he will face the charges against him.”

 

The army spokesperson also admitted that Pasking spoke to him over the phone a day after the shooting and tried to explain that he shot the civilians in self-defense. The ranger told him that he was attacked and stabbed at when he tried to reclaim his personal firearm, which his brother-in-law pawned to the victims without his consent.

 

Cabunoc said Pasking, aside from the criminal charges in the civilian courts, will also face administrative charges from the military.

 

However, he said the specific administrative case they will pursue against Pasking will depend on the FSRR. — DVM, GMA News