87 new soldiers and 97 soldier-trainees in northern Mindanao delisted from AFP

By Ronron
April 1, 2008

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) delisted 87 newly hired soldiers and 97 soldier-trainees in its unit in northern Mindanao in the light of the investigation conducted against the former military commander there.

Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. told reporters Tuesday in Camp Aguinaldo that the cancellation of the appointment orders of the 184 personnel at the 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro City took effect last March 25.

“The appointment orders of the candidate soldiers and Privates who were found to be not qualified were cancelled,” Torres said.

“Admission into the military without going through the prescribed process is considered fraudulent and may result to separation from the service,” he added.

The 184 personnel were investigated after former 4th ID commander Maj. Gen. Jose Barbieto and his staff, Staff Sergeant Roseller Echipare, were accused of having collected some fees from them in exchange of assured entry into the service despite non-compliance with some requirements.

The 87 newly hired soldiers belong to a batch of 133 new Privates, while the 97 candidate soldiers belong to a batch of 150 trainees.

Torres said their appointment was cancelled because some of them were found to be under-height, while some submitted fake birth certificates, among other reasons.

But he said the Army leadership has yet to ascertain if indeed, these personnel were willing victims of Barbieto’s alleged extortion activities.

“These (under-height, fake birth certificates) are the main grounds for their cancellation, and not necessarily because they paid. These things will probably be asked of them in due time,” said Torres.

“Definitely, it (cancellation of appointment orders) affected the ongoing training, which commenced last January 10, if I’m not mistaken, wherein 150 trainees reported for training,” he added.

But Torres said the Army leadership assured these affected personnel that they can still re-apply in the service, provided they meet the requirements.

At the moment, Torres said the 4th ID will “double time” in their recruitment of new soldiers to make up for those cancelled.

Barbieto and Echipare have already been restricted inside the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City starting March 18 as they face pre-trial investigation by the Army Judge Advocate General’s Office.

Barbieto and Echipare are being investigated for possible violations of Article of War 55 (Officer Making Unlawful Enlistment), Article of War 96 (Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer and Gentleman), and Article of War 97 (Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Military Discipline).

The pre-trial investigation will determine whether or not Barbieto and Echipare will face court martial proceedings.

Asked if Barbieto has already denied the allegation, Torres said: “I’m not privy regarding those details, but definitely those things would be asked of Maj. Gen. Barbieto.”

Torres assured the even if Barbieto is a classmate of AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. in the Philippine Military Academy, there will be no whitewash in the investigation.

“We are doing the investigation based on the existing military laws… We are applying this equally,” he said.

But at the same time, Torres assured Barbieto, Echipare and their families that they will be given due process and a fair trial by the military tribunal, if ever./DMS