Col. Ruperto Pabustan said he has already sent his recommendation to the 6th Infantry Division asking that Canizares, a member of the 40th Infantry Battalion, be discharged from his position while facing administrative charges filed by his superior.
Pabustan said that even if there was already an amicable settlement between the relatives of the girl and the suspect, administrative charges would still be filed against him.
Surprisingly, nobody filed criminal charges against the soldier involved, apparently because of the customary “blood money” paid by Canizares to the family of the victim.
For Pabustan, Canizares is the kind of person that will destroy the military organization. “Thus, sanction should be imposed against him” despite the supposed settlement of the case through blood money, he added. He stressed that due process will be strictly observed.
Pabustan is very optimistic that the 6ID would immediately order Canizares’s expulsion after the review of his recommendation.
On Sept. 25, relatives of the rape victim agreed to an amicable settlement after accepting “blood money” from Canizares.
A Maguindanaon leader who is also a relative of the victim told reporters that heinous crimes like rape is worth P120,000 in their customary settlement procedures involving blood money.
Pabustan said amicable settlement was reached after series of meetings and consultations between the two parties.
The reported rape incident, according to the victim, took place on Sept. 19 while she was doing laundry in a river near the command post of the 40IB in a village in Carmen.
The girl claimed that Canizares grabbed her hand and dragged her to one of the rooms in the detachment and rape her.