AFP sets trial of 4 officers

AFP Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Four senior Army officers will soon be arraigned by a military tribunal for the botched Oct. 18, 2011, operation in Al Barka, Basilan, that left 19 Army Special Forces troops soldiers and 14 others wounded in  an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa formally appointed the members of the seven-man general court-martial (GCM) on April 16, but the military only announced it on April 29.

“With the composition of the GCM approved, the next step is the arraignment of all the accused before the military court,” the AFP said in a statement.

To be arraigned are Col. Amikandra Undug, former commander of the Army Special Forces Regiment; Col. Alexander Macario, former commander of the Special Operations Task Force-Basilan; Lt. Col. Leonardo Peña, former commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion in charge of the troops deployed to Al Barka, and Lt. Col. Orlando Edralin, former commandant of the Special Forces Training School.  Dona Z. Pazzibugan