“The government should stop the practice of freeing high-ranking military officials from accountability just because they are well-placed in the bureaucracy,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General.
“The government should stop the practice of freeing high-ranking military officials from accountability just because they are well-placed in the bureaucracy,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General.
Palabay referred to the February 11, 2015 resolution of the Department of Justice that excluded Lt. Col. Alexis Noel Bravo from the list of respondents of the three counts of murder of the Capion family, one count of attempted murder, and violations of some provisions of the RA 9851 (The Philippine Act on Crimes against International Humanitarian Law).
Bravo is commanding officer of the 27th military battalion responsible for the massacre of anti-mining activist Juvy Capion and two sons John Mark Capion, 8, and Jordan, 13; and the attempted murder of Vicky Capion, the five-year-old daughter.
The resolution signed by DOJ Undersecretary Leah Tanodra-Armamento only recommended the filing of charges against 1st Lt. Dante Jimenez and 12 other members of the 27th IBPA. The massacre happened on October 18, 2012 in the village of Fayahlob, Bgy. Kimlawis, Kiblawan, Davao del Sur. Juvy Capion was three-months pregnant at the time of her death.
Palabay said the DOJ also did the same in 2013 when it dropped the charges against Brig. Gen. Eduardo Año, former intelligence service chief and now 10th Infantry Division Commanding Officer, who was among the respondents for the arbitrary detention, murder, and obstruction of justice on the enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos. In 2014, the Justice Department also exonerated former AFP Southern Luzon Commanding General Lt. Gen. Alan Luga from the torture charges filed by security guard Rolly Panesa.
“This practice completely disregards the principle of command responsibility and good governance. High officials should be held accountable for violations of their units directly under their command,” Palabay said.
Arrest the members of the 27th IBPA
On March 23, 2015, the Digos City Regional Trial Court issued the Information for murder charges against the 13 members of the 27th IBPA for the massacre of the Capion family after finding probable cause.
“We urged the Court to immediately issue a warrant of arrest against the members of the 27th IB-PA and put them behind bars. It has been almost three years since the massacre. They should not be allowed to harm more civilians to protect big business interests like the XStrata-Glencore-SMI mining company,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
The Court, in its decision dated March 23, 2015 said the accused were “conspiring confederating and mutually helping one another, with intent to kill, with treachery and taking advantage of their superior strength, armed with guns, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and shoot” Capion and her sons and daughter.
The RTC issued the Information after more than two years since the Capion family, through Juvy Capion’s father Sukim Malid, filed murder charges on March 6, 2013 against Lt. Col. Bravo, 1Lt. Jimenez and 12 other members of the 27th IB-PA.
Five months later, on August 5, 2013 Prosecutor Jayson Banjal, with the concurrence of Provincial Prosecutor Artemio Tajon, dismissed the charges for lack of sufficient evidence to establish probable cause. The Capion family’s legal counsel on October 25 filed a Petition for Review with the aim to reverse the August 5 resolution.
On February 11, 2015, the Department of Justice reversed the August 5, 2013 resolution of the Provincial Prosecutor of Digos, Davao del Sur. The Resolution however exonerated Lt. Col Alexis Bravo, the Battalion Commander of the 27th IB-PA simply because “he was not in the crime scene.”
“We expect not just a speedy trial but also the eventual inclusion of Lt. Col. Alexis Bravo into the case. His men could not have acted without his order,” said Palabay.