Two Army detachment commanders and 12 militiamen were charged for double murder before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Negros Occidental on Tuesday, in connection with the killing of two men in Brgy. Minapasok, Calatrava last month.

The respondents in the double murder case are Army Sgts. Rene Maribao and Artecy Badaran who were immediately relieved from their posts as commanders of Marcelo and Bug-ang detachments, respectively, and 12 paramilitary troopers whose identities were not available as of press time yesterday. PO1 Kyth Ughayon, case investigator of the Calatrava police, said Maribao and Badaran were placed under technical arrest and disarmed by their superiors after the incident.

Police investigations show that Maribao and Badaran led two teams of militiamen who responded to information relayed to them, about presence of armed men with pending arrest warrants at the public market of Brgy.Minapasok, Calatrava on March 10.

An alleged shoot-out took place between the government troopers and the victims identified as ex-CAFGU member Norberto Gallego, and his nephew, Crisanto Tayuba.

However, the family of the victims disputed the claims of the military.

Police records show that Gallego was found positive for gunpowder burns, but not his nephew, Tayuba.

The results of the tests on Norberto bolstered claims of soldiers that a shootout took place between them and the victims.

A Squires Bingham .38 caliber revolver with three live ammunition and three spent shells allegedly recovered from Gallego, were turned over to the police by the soldiers.

Families of Gallego and Tayuba, however, claimed they have witnesses to prove that the victims were killed by soldiers, citing also the testimony Anthony Casipong, a civilian who was hit by a stray bullet.

Police investigations also showed that Tayuba has a pending arrest warrant for robbery with homicide in Quezon City.

On the other hand, Gallego, alias Boboy, also had a pending arrest for homicide issued by the San Carlos RTC in 1993. However, the case was temporarily dismissed for failure of the complainant to attend court hearings, the police said.

A certain Elynnel Gallego, alias Amay, a relative of the victims, has a pending case of murder in La Carlota City, and a cash reward of P300,000 has been offered for his arrest, the police said.*GPB

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