Death of botanist, civilians in Leyte clash probed—AFP
By Mario J. Mallari 11/18/2010An investigation is now ongoing to determine possible culpability of Army soldiers in the killing of a botanist of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) and two other civilians during a supposed encounter between government troops and communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Leyte province last Monday.
Military Central Command (Centcom) chief Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva said he already instructed Army 8th Infantry Division (ID) commander Maj. Gen. Mario Chan to conduct parallel investigation of the incident in Kananga town where Leonardo Co, a botanist, who is working as consultant for EDC, and two others were killed.
“We are now conducting a parallel investigation because we really emphasize in our operations the safety of civilians,” said Villanueva.
Police have already started investigation of the case. Part of the police probe was to determine whether the three fatalities were really caught in the crossfire.
While it is too early to presume innocence of the Army operatives, Villanueva expressed optimism that the soldiers were not responsible in the death of Co and his companions..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20101118nat1.html
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