Military probes Basilan clash, including misfiring of 81mm ammunition

By Ronron
July 13, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is sending an investigating team today (Saturday) to Basilan to look into the circumstances surrounding Tuesday’s heavy clash in Al-Barka town that claimed the lives of 14 soldiers, 10 of whom were beheaded, and the wounding of nine others.

AFP Public Information Officer (PIO) Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters Friday in Camp Aguinaldo that the team, consisting of the military’s Inspector Generals, will also probe into the failure of the 81mm mortar ammunitions used by the engaged Marine troopers to fire.

“We’d like to inform everybody that the Chief of Staff has directed the Inspector General of the AFP, Major General Ferdinand Bocobo, to create a joint investigating body… This body will be composed of the Inspector General (IG) himself, the IG of the Philippine Navy, IG of the Philippine Marines, the IG of the Western Mindanao Command and some technical persons from the logistics family,” Bacarro said.

Bacarro said the team, which will be headed by deputy IG of the AFP, Brig. Gen. Henry Galarpe, is given by AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. seven days to complete the report.

During the nine-hour gun battle at Barangay Guinanta in Al-Barka, some of the 81mm mortars used by elements of the 1st Marine Brigade did not go off, prompting some sectors, including newly elected Senator and former Navy officer Antonio Trillanes IV, to call for a probe into the equipment and weapons of the AFP.

Bacarro said it is possible that those mortars were exposed to harsh conditions of the environment like being submerged in water, thus they misfired.

He said a mortar round has three sensitive parts – the propellant, the initiator fuse, and the fuse in front.

Bacarro said the question of whether or not there is a problem in the AFP’s procurement system is already out because the issue only falls on the handling and storage of the mortar rounds.

He said the failure of the mortar rounds to fire does not also indicate that the Philippine soldiers are equipped.

“Based on the inventory of equipment that we have, we are equipped,” stressed Bacarro.

“We just can’t avoid those incidents. It’s really probable that the mortar round will not fire. But it is very rare that they will not go off all together at one instance. So, it could have been possible that these ammunitions were exposed to harsh conditions like being dipped in the water,” he added.

Bacarro disclosed that the 81mm mortar rounds used by the engaged troops in the Al-Barka encounter came from the United States military, and each is estimated to be worth no more than US$150.

As a result of last Tuesday’s clash and pending the investigation, all 81 mm mortars with the same lot number (or from the same batch) will no longer be used. They will be replaced with same type of mortars with another lot number.

“We have sufficient, particularly for the 81mm mortars, in our inventory. We still have about 38,000 rounds of 81 mm mortars,” Bacarro said.

Asked if Esperon was horrified by the misfiring of the 81mm mortar, Bacarro said: “It is a concern for the AFP.”/DMS