In-law of B’laan anti-mining activist files charges vs soldiers

DIGOS CITY, Philippines—The father of the slain wife of B’laan leader Daguil Capion on Wednesday filed murder charges against 16 Army officers and men at the Davao del Sur prosecutor’s office here.

Sukim Malid identified Lt. Col. Alexis Bravo, commander of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion, as among those responsible for the Oct. 18 deaths of his daughter, Juvy, and his grandchildren, Mark and Jordan.

In his complaint, received by provincial prosecutor Artemio Tajon, Malid said the soldiers deliberately killed Juvy and her sons even if they knew that Capion and his armed followers were not in the family’s hut in Barangay Kimlawis in Kiblawan, Davao del Sur.

Malid also attached various documents, including a Commission on Human Rights report on the killings, when he filed the complaint with the assistance of lawyer Marcos Risonar Jr. of the Free Legal Assistance Group.

Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division to which the 27th Infantry Battalion belongs, said the military respected the rights of the Malid family, including the filing of the charges, to seek justice.

But he added that the military was not remiss in its mandate as it also has initiated the court-martial of the soldiers directly involved in the killings.

Asked for an update on the court-martial, Paniza said it was continuing.