• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Occidental Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has downgraded from murder to homicide the cases it recommended for filing against a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) involved in the death of two civilians in Moises Padilla town on Jan. 2.
This is stated in a two-page inquest resolution dated Jan. 3, according to a statement from the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (ID).
CAFGU member Donan Sucia was among those who responded to a call for assistance during a commotion in Barangay Montilla that involved John Albert Templatura and his father, Godofredo, in front of the residence of village chief Nenita Alconera.
When the responding team arrived, the younger Templatura took his bolo and tried to stab Sucia.
Sucia shot him and also fired at Templatura’s father who had the intention to take away his rifle.
Two other civilians were hit by stray bullets and were already treated.
Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, commander of 3ID, who expressed his sympathies to the family of the victims, said “nobody wanted the situation to end the way it did”.
Sison said they will revisit and improve the standard operating procedures and rules of engagements for CAFGU detachments to prevent a similar incident.
“I am saddened by the fact that lives were lost and others were left wounded as our security forces responded to a request for assistance. For certain, they had no intentions to take life but to maintain peace and order,” he added.
Sison said that while the Philippine Army believes that the actions of Sucia were intended to preserve his own life, they submit to the wisdom of the court regarding the case. | GB
