Kin of fallen soldiers in Al-Barka clash unhappy with court-martial rulings

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Justice was not served when a court-martial demoted and suspended an Army officer over the October 2011 debacle in Al-Barka, Basilan, in which 19 officers and soldiers were killed, a relative of one of the fallen soldiers said.

Erren Khe, brother of 2Lt. Jose Delfin Khe, one of the slain officers, said the court martial did not establish why that many soldiers were killed in their encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.

The initial report released by the military was that Khe’s group was still training for another course when sent to Al Barka for a test mission.

The military report concluded that Khe’s group should not have been sent there in the first place.

Several officers were subjected to court martial and two of them had been convicted of violation of the Articles of War.

The latest to be convicted was Col. Leonardo Peña, the former commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion, where the slain soldiers belonged to.

But while Peña was found guilty of “conduct prejudicial to good military order and discipline,” he was cleared of another charge, deliberately causing damage or loss of military property.

Peña became the second military official to have been convicted in connection with the Al Barka clash.

Earlier, the same military tribunal found Col. Aminkadra Undug, the former commander of the Special Forces Regiment Battalion, of committing conduct prejudicial to good military order and discipline.

Undug is currently awaiting approval of the “punishment” meted on him by the military court, according to Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Philippine Army spokesperson.

Erren Khe, also a former junior military officer and now the spokesperson for families of the 19 slain soldiers, said they had always been pessimistic about attaining justice from the military court and were not surprised at the outcome of the trial.

He said for one, the military never clarified what really took place and why the trainees were sent to risky areas.

“For as long as the AFP refuses to reveal what really happened and continues to cover up for the mistakes (of officers) by declaring it was a legitimate encounter, there would be no justice,” he said.

Khe said even if “truth hurts,” it would be the most liberating thing to know.

“Justice must be based on truth and not on the desire to protect the interests of top officers holding higher positions,” he said, apparently referring to the court martial’s decision to clear Col. Alexander Macario, the former commander of Special Operations Task Force Basilan and now the Inspector General (IG) of the 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro City; and Lt. Col. Orlando Edralin, former commandant of the Special Forces Regiment Training School.

The two officers were cleared in October 2012.