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By Anthony Vargas, Reporter
An Army platoon that figured in
the death of a nine-year-old girl mistaken for a communist child
warrior in Compostela Valley last month has been to restricted to
battalion headquarters, the military said Friday.
The Armed Forces spokesman, Lt.
Col. Bartolome Bacarro, told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo the
platoon from 101st Infantry Brigade “cannot go out of the camp
without permission. The purpose is to ensure that they will be
available during the conduct of investigation.”
Bacarro belied reports that the
inquiry into the incident, which resulted in the death of Grecil
Gelacio, had been put on hold.
“I will just clarify that the
suspended part of the investigation was that of the father, but all
others . . . the difference participants, the investigation is
[still] ongoing,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza,
commander of the 101st Infantry Brigade said earlier the inquiry was
suspended because Gregorio Gelacio, the girl’s father, refused to
cooperate.
Last March 31, troops from the
platoon clashed with a group of New People’s Army fighters in
Barangay Kahayon, New Bataan province, with the girl caught in the
crossfire.
The military in a statement
identified the grade-two pupil claimed as a “child warrior”
armed with an M-16 rifle.
The girl’s family had filed
murder charges against platoon leader 2nd Lt. Francis John Gabawa.
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