Military seeks autopsy on remains of child killed in encounter with rebels

The military wants an autopsy performed on the remains of the nine-year-old girl – tagged as "child warrior’’ by soldiers – who was killed in an encounter in Compostela Valley last March between government troops and communist rebels.

"We are going to seek an autopsy on the remains of the child to see who really killed her – was it the soldiers or the retreating New People’s Army rebels?’’ Army 1001st Infantry Brigade commander Carlos Holganza said.

The soldiers involved in the operation that left nine-year-old Gercil Gelacio dead are restricted to barracks pending the conclusion of a military investigation of the incident.

Holganza explained that the autopsy would help establish the trajectory of the bullet that killed Gercil and determine if it came from the soldiers or from the rebels.

"The child was with the rebels at the time of the encounter. She was near the rebels and it could be that she was felled by a bullet that came from the retreating rebels,’’ Holganza said.

He said initial findings showed that the bullet that pierced the back of the child’s head had an upward trajectory, and that it could not have come from where the soldiers were positioned.

"We also would like to see if the child was hit at a close distance because the soldiers were from a farther point compared to the rebels who were very much near where she was at the time of the encounter,’’ Holganza said.

Aside from a gaping head wound, the young Gelacio also sustained a bullet wound in her right elbow.

The March 31 incident, which took place in Barangay Kahayag, New Bataan, Compostela Valley, also left one soldier dead. Government troops also reported the recovery of six high-powered firearms from retreating rebels.

Based on initial reports, soldiers from the 67th Army Infantry Battalion were tipped of the presence of a band of insurgents in Barangay Kahayag, particularly in the house of Gelacio.

A firefight ensued when the platoon of soldiers, led by 2nd Lt. Francis John Gabawa, swooped down on the barangay.

The official report released by the military after the encounter stated that the dead nine-year-old girl was a child warrior and that she was with NPA rebels when killed.

The military’s claim drew condemnation from cause-oriented groups such as Gabriela and Salinlahi-Alliance for Children’s Concern, which demanded that the military drop the "child warrior’’ tag on the young Gelacio and investigate the circumstances behind her death.

The victim’s father, Gregorio, said his daughter was just a Grade 2 student and was only taking a dip in the river when shot dead by soldiers.

Confined to barracks

The soldiers involved in the operation are restricted to barracks pending the conclusion of a military investigation on the incident.

"The provision of the restriction is that they cannot go out of the camp without permission. The purpose is to ensure that they will be available during the conduct of the investigation,’’ Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, chief of the military’s Public Information Office, said.

The military launched its own probe following doubts raised by some quarters over the military’s claim that the slain girl was a combatant.

Not even the photograph released by the military of the slain girl lying next to an M-16 rifle could convince critics that she had engaged the soldiers in a firefight.

The victim’s family had also sought the help of the Commission on Human Rights. The girl’s father also filed a complaint with the Ombudsman against Gabawa, according to dzBB. The report did not specify the case lodged against the platoon leader. – With Sandy Araneta, Jaime Laude