DOJ: Government troops not liable for death of botanist, 2 guides

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has cleared government troops of any liability in the killing of noted botanist Leonardo Co and two guides in an encounter with communist rebels in Leyte last November.

In a 26-page report, a fact-finding panel composed of Assistant State Prosecutors Diosdado Solidum Jr. and Bryan Jacinto Cacha and lawyer Romulo Asis of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Death Investigation Division said the soldiers involved in the firefight were not responsible for the death of 56-year-old Co, Sofronio Cortez and Julius Borromeo.

The bullets that killed the three, according to the panel, came from the lines of the New People’s Army (NPA).

The probe panel cited the liability of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) for its failure to secure their personnel despite knowing that there was an NPA lair in the vicinity.

“The officials of EDC were aware of the past and present threat of the communist terrorist to the company premises, facilities and equipment,” it said.

“Moreso, during the time Dr. Co and company were in the area, EDC officials were informed and cautioned about the presence of communist terrorists in the area. The officials of EDC did not give the proper importance to such information and did not act accordingly,” it added.

This was the reason why the company entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police in securing its geothermal facilities because of communist threats in the area, the panel said.

The EDC, the panel concluded, also failed to provide proper security coordination to Co’s group since as early as Nov. 12, the security officers were already informed of the heightened presence of NPA forces in the area and of a possible military encounter.

The military expressed elation over the DOJ findings and branded as “propaganda” the claims of leftist groups that the soldiers deliberately killed the civilians they mistook for insurgents.

Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva, chief of the Armed Forces’ Central Command, said the findings affirmed the soldiers’ claim that there was an encounter when Co was killed.

For its part, the EDC said it was “surprised and dismayed” at the DOJ findings, adding that it “continues to be of the firm view that it adhered to its security protocols and coordinated with the military to protect its employees, consultants and contractors.”

According to EDC, Cortez was a “valued and loyal employee,” while Co and Borromeo were its “partners in our efforts to protect the environment.”

Co, for his part, had been a “partner” of EDC and the Lopez Group in their environment initiatives for 20 years.

The DOJ panel said the military forces could not be charged with criminal acts because their activities in the area “were due to a legitimate military action.”

“Further, the ballistics report of the NBI showed that none of the firearms submitted by the Philippine Army matched the bullets recovered from the bodies,” it said.

The panel gave weight to the testimonies of witnesses and survivors that the soldiers were positioned on top of the ridge, and the NPA rebels on the lower ground.

Co’s group, on the other hand, was also on the lower ground but hidden from the military’s view due to the mountainous and thickly forested terrain, it said.

An examination of the ballistic bullet trajectory, following an ocular inspection, further revealed that the proximate distance between the Army troops and the rebels was only about 41 meters, the panel said.

“The bullets which may have killed Co, Cortez and Borromeo likewise came from the lower ground as indicated by their trajectories, indicating that they were not fired from the position of state forces,” the panel’s report stated, citing NBI findings.

The panel recommended that the insurgents involved in the encounter be made liable for murder.

Co and his two guides were gathering seedlings of endangered trees in a forest in Upper Mahiao, Lim-ao in Kananga, Leyte when military troops shot it out with NPA guerrillas, resulting in their death in the crossfire. – With Alexis Romero