Another soldier runs amuck, kills 2 infantrymen at army post in Mindanao

Army soldiers guard a bridge in the Maguindanao town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in the southern Philippines as an old man bikes his way through. Two soldiers were killed in Maguindanao after an infantryman went on a murderous rampage. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 14, 2009) – The Philippine Army mounted a massive search on Monday for a foot soldier who killed two infantry men and wounded one more in a shooting spree in Mindanao.

The soldier, Private First Class Jefferson Brillo, shot his commander Sergeant Alex Guimata and Corporal Ernesto Dumaboc in a fit of rage after he was reprimanded for drinking.

Another soldier, Corporal Randy Lainera, is recuperating at a military hospital after being shot also. Brillo escaped after the shooting, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao province.

“The perpetrator is still at-large,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ponce said the sergeant confronted Brillo, a sentinel at a detachment of 38th Infantry Battalion in Tugaid village in Barira town, after he was caught drinking at a store near the battalion headquarters.

Brillo, who was supposed to man the detachment, went to his bunker and returned armed with automatic rifle and then without warning opened fire on the soldiers before escaping on foot, the official said.

Early this month, an infantry man also shot and killed two army soldiers and injured five others after he opened fire on them at an army base in Maguindanao’s Tugaig town.

The shooter, Technical Sergeant Policarpio dela Cruz, was also shot and wounded by other soldiers.

Those killed in the shooting were identified as Sergeant Bernard de Guzman and Private First Class Christopher Pagatpatan. While the wounded were Lieutenant Colonel Aniceto Vicente, Major Fe Ea, Second Lieutenant Grace Sumalbag, Sergeant Ronaldo Saraza and Corporal Dennis Bergante.

The motive of the shooting is still unknown, but the army spokesman said Dela Cruz was observed to be acting abnormally before the attack. (Mindanao Examiner)

Soldiers kill amok at checkpoint in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 12, 2008) – Government soldiers shot and killed a man who tried to attack them Monday with a machete at a checkpoint in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga, officials said.

Officials said the man, Romeo Abdullah charged towards two soldiers with his machete - shouting “Allahu Akbar” – but was gunned down before he could hack them.

“The soldiers were alert and shot the man who attacked them at the checkpoint,” said Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of an army anti-terror task force.

He said the Abdullah was wearing a white burial cloth around his head and a pair of short pants when he suddenly charged towards the soldiers.

“Residents in the area said the man was a known drug addict and suffering from a mental illness. We don’t know what triggered the attack, but we understand that he got that burial cloth from his relative who died three days ago,” Baluyot said.

Baluyot said soldiers are in heightened alert in Zamboanga City as part of a security measure after Moro rebels bombed a power pylon at the weekend in Lanao del Norte province, cutting off electricity in many parts of Mindanao, including Zamboanga City.

Two improvised explosives, believed planted by rebels, were also recovered last week near a bus depot in Zamboanga City, which had been previously bombed by the Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Mindanao Examiner)

Deranged Man Is Killed After Attacking Neighbors In South RP

COMPOSTELA VALLEY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 26, 2008) – Village policemen shot dead an old man, who allegedly went berserk and wounded one person in the southern Philippine town of Compostela.

At least seven policemen were involved in the killing of Pablo Cabilin, 67, on Thursday. They claimed that Cabilin was armed with a bolo and attacked one of them, Carlos Ilajas.

Cabilin also tried to attack other residents in the village which prompted the policemen, who were armed with shotguns, to open fire and eventually killing the man.

The victim’s family said Cabilin was suffering from a mental illness and that killing was unnecessary, adding, the village policemen could just have shot the man in the leg to immobilize him.

It was unknown whether the family would file criminal charges against the seven policemen or not. (Romy Bwaga)

Amok Kills 10 In Central RP, Police Say

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Jun) – About two dozen people were killed and wounded before sunrise on Saturday after a man ran amuck and hacked his neighbors in the central Philippine province of Samar, police said.

Police said the man was apparently under the influence of liquor or possibly drugs when he went into a murderous rampage on a village in Calbayog City.

Armed with a bolo – a long heavy knife with a single edge – the man attacked everyone on his path and killing ten people and wounding at least 14 others before surrendering.

Police said among his victims were relatives and children, including a pregnant woman who was hacked dead inside her house.

The motives of the attack were unknown and the man has not spoken yet about what he did, police said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Soldier In Rampage, Kills 9 In Jolo Island

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 08 Apr) – A government soldier ran amok and killed nine of his companions before himself being shot dead inside a Philippine Army base in the southern island of Jolo, officials said on Sunday.

The soldier, identified only as Pfc. Idai, went into a shooting rampage before dawn Saturday inside their base in Silangkan village in Parang town. One civilian was also wounded in the shooting, other military sources said.

“We are still investigating the incident. Right now, we cannot give anything yet. We still do not know what happened,” Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the Army’s First Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

The military did not give details of the shooting, but the soldier, who was killed by sentinels, belonged to the 35th Infantry Battalion, sent to fight the Abu Sayyaf group tied to al-Qaeda terror network.

Thousands of soldiers are deployed in Jolo to battle the Abu Sayyaf which is said to be coddling Indonesian and Malaysian Jemaah Islamiya militants, among them Dulmatin and Umar Patek.

Both men have been implicated in the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed 202 mostly tourists. (Mindanao Examiner)