Military honors former Army soldier slain by cop

LAST RESPECTS Members of the Philippine Army confer military honors on their former comrade, retired Cpl. Winston Ragos, at Libingan ng mga Bayani on the eve of his burial scheduled at noon on Sunday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHILIPPINE ARMY

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Army rendered military honors to retired Cpl. Winston Ragos who was killed by a policeman near a quarantine checkpoint in Quezon City on April 21.

An honor guard of six troopers in masks received Ragos’ flag-draped coffin at the Army Mortuary in the Libingan ng mga Bayani shortly after midnight on Saturday, a day before his burial.

The team handed over the flag to Ragos’ mother, Merlyn Ragos.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay arrived before noon to pay his respects to the slain corporal and hand over an unspecified amount as financial assistance to the Ragos family.

“We condole with the family of the late Corporal Ragos. He has suffered enough from the challenges of [post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD] caused by the invisible wounds of war,” Gapay said.

Ragos joined the military in 2010 after his father, a former trooper of the Philippine Constabulary, was disabled.

Although a criminology graduate in Albay, Ragos enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 31st Infantry Battalion of the 9th “Spear” Division based in Camarines Sur, infested with communist rebels.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said Ragos developed PTSD after his unit was almost overrun in a battle. He was forcibly retired because of his mental condition.

On April 21, Ragos was shot by Police Master Sgt. Daniel Florendo, who claimed Ragos tried to draw a gun after he was accosted for violating quarantine. But conflicting testimonies spurred Gapay to ask the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent probe of the incident.