Army takes custody of soldier in bus drama

NAGA CITY—The Army soldier involved in a five-hour hostage drama in Del Gallego, Camarines Sur province, on Friday was freed on bail from detention by the municipal police on Monday but was immediately brought into military custody.

Cpl. Rene Prajele, 36, who belongs to the 31st Infantry Battalion based in Sorsogon province, posted a P40,000 bail on a charge of slight illegal detention at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 29 in Libmanan, Camarines Sur. He was taken to the barracks of the 9th Infantry Division in Pili, also in the province.

Capt. Marjorie Panesa, the unit’s public information officer, said Prajele would be investigated and subjected to a psychological evaluation in preparation for an administrative case to be filed against him. Higher officials will decide if he is to face court-martial proceedings, she said.

Prajele had put authorities on their toes when he alighted from a bus and boarded a Peñafrancia Tours bus bound for Manila in full battle gear and armed with an M-16 rifle and a grenade in Pamplona town on Friday. He took its driver and 30 passengers hostages at 10:45 a.m.

The bus was stopped at a military-police blockage in Del Gallego.

The soldier, who was reported to having marital problems, surrendered to Col. Amador Tabuga Jr., division commander, after four hours of negotiations with a crisis committee composed of Ragay Mayor Ricardo Aquino, Del Gallego Mayor Lydia Abarrientos, Tabuga and representatives from the Philippine National Police.

Provincial Prosecutor Richard Cu said Prajele was charged with slight illegal detention because he had only restrained the liberty of individuals without harming them and then surrendered peacefully to authorities.

The crime was classified as “slight” because the detention did not take more than three days, he said. For it to be considered a case of serious illegal detention and kidnapping, detention must last more than three days and those held were threatened with the intent to kill them if the demand is not met.

In Prajale’s case, Cu said the soldier told the passengers and driver to just keep calm and quiet. No one wanted to file a criminal charge because of the burden of following it up and appearing before the court, he said.

Cu said two Del Gallego policemen, SPO1 Nelson Rufo Jr. and PO1 Daniel Ochoa, filed the case for inquest at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Naga City on Saturday. They were part of the negotiating team.

The case was raffled off to RTC Branch 29 in Libmanan, the nearest court from the scene of the crime.