13 soldiers to face court martial for death of 3 civilians in Davao del Sur

Thirteen soldiers will face the court martial after a military probe found a “tactical lapse” in their operation two weeks ago that resulted in the death of a tribal leader’s pregnant wife and two sons in Davao del Sur, according to a press statement Thursday. The soldiers, headed by company commander 1Lt. Dante Jimenez, will be held liable for their failure to ascertain the presence of civilians before firing toward the house of B’laan tribal leader Daguil Capion last October 18, the statement from the Philippine Army said.

Juvy Capion, 27 years old and three months pregnant, and her two children, Jordan “Pop” Capion, 13, and Jhon Mark Capion, 8, were killed in their home-farm on Fayahlob Mountain, Sitio Datal-Alyong at the boundary of Tampakan and Kiblawan and Columbio on at around 6:30 a.m., missionary priest Peter Jeremiah of the PIME said in an article on Oct. 23. The accused soldiers had claimed the deaths resulted from a military "encounter" with communist rebels. Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said a board of inquiry recommended that the soldiers be charged for violating the Articles of War. “There was a lapse of judgment on the company commander for he failed to direct his men in accordance to the rules of engagement,” Paniza said in a statement. He added that Jimenez himself admitted this “lapse” during investigations on the incident. However, Paniza said the probe had not established whether the bullets from government troops had indeed killed the civilians or not. He also said the inquiry, led by Col. Fidel Francis Pumihic, had ruled out the possibility of a massacre. According to the probers, a “legitimate encounter” actually occurred between the soldiers and the B'laan leader’s group, he said. “Though we have yet to wait for the result of the ballistics test to know from whose shot really killed Juvy, and the two children, still, we have to promulgate necessary measures to our men who made violations (to the rules of engagement),” Paniza said. Encounter claim belied Based on the results of their independent investigation and statements from witnesses, however, human rights groups advocates believe no encounter happened, and that the B'laan family was summarily killed. According to a joint statement by Alyansa Tigil Mina and several human rights groups, the soldiers raided the Capion farmhouse and strafed their nipa hut, killing Juvy and her children. Her husband, Daguil Capion, has been leading the “pangayaw” or tribal war against the large-scale Sagittarius Mines, Inc that operates the $5.9-billion mining project of the Swiss firm Xstrata and Australia’s Indophil Resources partly within B'laan territory. Daguil was able to escape the raid, but his wife and children were massacred, said the the joint  statement sent to GMA News Online on October 25. It said: "Two other children, Ressa Piang and Becky Capion, were targeted when Aileen Capion, a relative of the family, called on the military men to stop shooting." Aileen recalled calling on the military: “Ayaw ninyo unsaa and mga bata, akoa na ang mga bata (Do not harm the children. I will take custody of them.).” But the soldiers supposedly replied, “Mas maayo nga tiwason ang mga bata para wala'y witness (Better to finish off the children so that there will be no more witnesses.).” Emmanuel Amistad, executive director of Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, said: “It was not an encounter. The Philippine Army massacred unarmed, innocent civilians. They should not only be relieved; they should be dishonorably dismissed from service and criminal charges filed against them. Atty. Mario E. Maderazo of PMPI said: “President Aquino should order the immediate pull-out of the 27th Infantry Battallion in Tampakan to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).” Fr. Jeremiah's appeal Believing that mining in the area is one of the reasons for the killings, Fr. Jeremiah appealed to soldiers to stop killing those who oppose the operations: "If the soldiers are meant to be the Protectors of the People, their first mandate, their constitutional oath, is to protect civilians above all other orders. If they risk the lives of civilians, they betray their oath, they are no longer Soldiers of the Philippines, but mercenaries of a foreign company that pays them to kill anyone on their way. "To the Officers, even President Benigno Aquino III, I ask: if you order or allow to kill people like Juvy and their children, haven’t you lost your legitimacy? You may find words to justify your rules of engagement, but you cannot justify this crime before God and your people. Didn’t you know that in the home there was a family? Fr. Jeremiah noted that the killing of Juvy and her children took place the day after the first anniversary of the murder of Fr. Fausto "Pops" Tentorio, PIME, in Arakan town.  "Similar masterminds, determined to murder a priest who gave hope to the victims of exploitation. The same 10th Infantry Division which trains and orders soldiers and paramilitaries or assets to spread terror," he said.  "The President called for a thorough investigation on the Tentorio killing, but up to now, one year after, there are no credible results of the investigation," he said. "Will Juvy and her children's case be any different?" the priest added. — Andreo C. Calonzo and Luis B. Gorgonio /KG, GMA News