Army commander in Occidental Mindoro relieved of duty after NPA attack

An Army battalion commander in Occidental Mindoro has been ordered relieved from his post following last Friday's attack of communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels there that left three people dead.

Lt. Col. Mario Africa was relieved as chief of the 76th Infantry Battalion in order to give way to a transparent investigation, said Maj. Angelo Guzman, spokesman of the military's Southern Luzon Command.

“He was relieved because of what has happened,” Guzman said. “If there are incidents such as this, it's SOP [standard operating procedure] on our part to conduct an investigation.”

The investigation is being carried out by the Armed Forces' 2nd Infantry Division, Guzman said.

“The investigation will focus on what happened, if there are lapses so that we can improve the conduct of our operations in the future,” he added.

Guzman also said that Africa was succeeded by Lt. Col. Michael Licyayo as chief of the 76th Infantry Battalion.

Last Friday, a soldier, a policeman and a civilian were killed while four other policemen were wounded after 50 NPA rebels attacked a police station in Occidental Mindoro.

The rebels also seized town Mayor Williard Sanchez and his administrative staff who were used as human shields. They were eventually released. —Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News