15 Army Special Forces men relieved over Lipa raid

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) relieved 15 members of the the Army Special Forces as part of the investigation on the raid of the Lipa City police station last Friday.

Army spokesman Maj. Bartolome Bacarro said the 15 enlisted men were also ordered restricted to the headquarters of the 1st Special Forces Battalion in Taysan town, Batangas.

"All of them are undergoing investigation to ascertain their participation in the incident," Bacarro said.

Capt. Rommil Abayon, the battalion’s operations officer, and his men will face a court martial or an efficiency separations board once investigators establish a prima facie case against them.

Abayon and his men allegedly attacked the Lipa city police station to retrieve the gun earlier confiscated by the police from the Army officer at a beer joint in Lipa City.

During the raid, Abayon and his men reportedly beat up at least 10 policemen and recovered the officer’s gun. Before leaving, the soldiers also took a cache of firearms from the armory of the police station.

Abayon’s superior officers later returned the "stolen" firearms but police said the soldiers will be charged with robbery in band, direct assault, malicious mischief, and physical injuries before a Batangas court. — Cecille Suerte Felipe