BASILAN PROVINCE– A marine sentinel was shot dead by a drunken soldier on Christmas Day in Basilan province in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said Sergeant Errol Chavez was killed on the spot after being peppered with bullets from an automatic rifle by Private First Class Dave Bryan Abang inside the command post of the 111st Marine Company in the village of Calang Canas in Maluso town.
The 23-year old Abang was immediately arrested by other soldiers after overpowering him, but the motive of the shooting was still unclear. It was unknown whether the two soldiers had a quarrel or not.
Officials said Abang remains in the custody of his unit while military investigation is going on. The municipal police had been informed of the incident and are also conducting its own probe to the killing of Chavez, 31.
Just early this month, a policeman PO2 Mario Tobias also killed PO2 Alano Abdulwahid inside their base in Bongao town in Tawi-Tawi. Tobias was also shot and killed by policemen after he also attacked them.
Tobias, who ran amuck for a still unknown reason, fired his M16 automatic rifle and killed the cop. Two other policemen who had been identified only by their rank and first name – SPO3 Kamaluddin and PO1 Tety – were also wounded in the rampage.
After shooting indiscriminately, Tobias locked himself inside one of the rooms of Camp Alejandro Suarez as police commanders urged him to surrender peacefully, but negotiations had failed. (Mindanao Examiner)
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