The family of a Mindoro Oriental student filed a complaint against the soldiers for extrajudicial killing

The complaint was filed against officials and soldiers of the Army’s 4th Infantry Battalion, 203rd Infantry Brigade and 2nd Infantry Division, seven months after the death of education student Jay-El Maligday.

MANILA, Philippines – The family of a red marked and a slain student leader in Oriental Mindoro filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday, November 28, accusing army officials and soldiers of extrajudicial killings.

The slain student, Jay-El Maligday, a 21-year-old sophomore at Grace Mission College in Socorro, Oriental Mindoro, was an active member of his church’s youth group and a member of the Mindoro Hanunuo-Mangyan tribe.

The complaint was filed seven months after Maligday’s death against officials and soldiers of the Army’s 4th Infantry Battalion, 203rd Infantry Brigade and 2nd Infantry Division.

The list of respondents includes army officers in the ranks from second lieutenant to general. The army has yet to issue a statement in response to the allegations.

The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said administrative complaints were also filed against army officers for serious misconduct, abuse of power and harassment.

According to the Justice for Jay-El Maligday Network, the student leader was shot dead in the early hours of April 7 by the military in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro after he was accused of being a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Battalion allegedly broke into Meligday’s home before the incident, the network reported.

Other community residents were allegedly pulled from their homes and threatened with harm if they did not cooperate.

NUPL said witnesses described hearing gunshots and later finding Maligday’s body with gunshot wounds.

Besides red marks Maligday, the military narrative claimed that he was killed in a gunfight, according to NUPL.

In an April statement, NPA-Mindoro spokesman Madaaj Hasic denied that Maligday had ties to their group, calling him an unarmed civilian. Hasich called Maligday’s murder a “criminal act.”

NUPL said Maligday’s family provided evidence of his civil status, including his academic aspirations and church involvement.

Witnesses claimed that firearms were planted near Maligday’s body to “fabricate evidence to support the military’s claims,” ​​the NUPL said.

“The military justified the killing with their standard narrative of conducting a ‘combat operation’ against an alleged NPA member,” the Justice for Jay-El Maligday Network said.

Maligday’s brother, Luigi, a spokesman for the Justice for Jay-El Maligday Network, which led the complaint, said: “We will never forget how the military burst onto our doorstep and aggressively ordered us out of the house. We heard gunshots from inside, knowing full well that our brother (JL) was still inside.” – Rappler.com