Fajardo eyes retraining
of troops in Sagay City

The 303rd Infantry Brigade is considering the option of recommending that soldiers assigned with the 32nd Division Reconnaissance Company to undergo retraining, because of what has been observed to be an apparent "breakdown in discipline" in the military unit.

2Lt. Joey Lacson, executive officer and platoon leader of the 32nd DRC, and PFC Leo Erasmo were both killed in a military camp in Brgy. Bato. Sagay City, on July 6.

Erasmo was initially reported by the military to have gone on a shooting rampage, killing his immediate superior, Lacson, and causing injuries to three others. Brig. Gen. Gregorio Fajardo, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, yesterday said the investigation of the incident is still ongoing, and if there is a need, he will recommend the retraining of the 32nd DRC.

Initial police investigations, however, showed that it was Lacson who fired first at Erasmo, who refused to lower his M-16 rifle in automatic mode, during a military formation. Erasmo who was hit in the left breast and left arm, returned fire, hitting Lacson twice in the head, and sustained two more gunshot wounds in his body. Three other soldiers were also hit when Erasmo shot Lacson, police said.

Both Lacson, 34, and Erasmo, 46, were declared dead on arrival at the Alfredo Marañon Memorial District Hospital in Sagay City. The three soldiers are now in stable condition.

Recovered from the crime scene were 14 empty shells of M-16 armalite rifle.

Fajardo said a recommendation already exists for the relief of Lacson as an executive officer of the 32nd DRC, because of conflict with his men, and his alleged tendency to manhandle personnel in his unit.

However, his relief was overtaken by the incident.

Fajardo said Lacson had also been relieved from his previous military unit.

Although the incident in Sagay was an isolated case, we will not allow or tolerate the breakdown of discipline within a military unit, Fajardo said.

Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, provincial police director, ordered Sagay police chief William Senoron to place under ballistic examinations the two M-16 rifles of Lacson and Erasmo, and other firearms of the soldiers present during the incident, to determine if other guns were also fired.

The 32nd DRC is among the striking force units of the 3rd Infantry Division under the supervision of the Task Force North, stationed in Sagay City, Negros Occidental.*GPB

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Ibrado next commanding
general of Philippine army

Maj. Gen. Victor Ibrado, a Negrense, is among the candidates vying for the position of commanding general of the 75,000-member Philippine Army, military records show.

Ibrado, former commanding officer of the 11th Infantry Battalion and later as 303rd Infantry Brigade, is the commanding general of the Army's elite Special Operations Command.

Other contenders for the Army chief position are Lt.Gen. Alexander Yano, commander of the Southern Luzon Command, Lt. Gen. Cardoso Luna, commanding general of the Central Command, and Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command. Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, commanding general of the Philippine Army, is retiring from the military service effective Aug. 24.

Ibrado and Yano are both members of the Philippine Military Academy Class '76, while Luna and Obaniana are graduates of PMA Class '75, military records also showed.

After his assignment in Negros, Ibrado, who was described by his friends as a low-profile military officer, served as the commanding general of the Army's Special Forces Regiment and of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Ibrado reportedly has an edge over the three other contenders, being the commander of the Special Forces and Scout Ranger Regiments, elite units of the Philippine Army.

Armed Forces chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon used to be the SOCOM chief before he became the commanding general of the Philippine Army.*GPB

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Water meter thefts drive up

The police yesterday conducted "visits" on junkshops in Bacolod City in response to reports that cases of water meter thefts have increased, the Philippine National Police said.

Bacolod City Police Office director, Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, said they are conducting follow-up operations to apprehend suspects, who usually sell the water meters to junk shops. The inner part of water meters contain copper which could fetch around P200 per kilo when sold to junkshops, dealers said.

Six Bacolod City residents reported to Police Station 4 yesterday that unidentified persons had stolen their water meters yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Bacolod City Water District had also called on its consumers to safeguard their water meters from thieves, as they have to buy the units to replace them. Quebrar said they will give attention to these water meter thefts and vowed to stop the series of robberies in the city.*PP

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