THE military has ordered an unspecified number of Army soldiers restricted and investigated for allegedly assisting retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan in taking over the compound of the Consolidated Mining Inc. (CMI) in Masinloc, Zambales last April 29.

AFP public information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano has directed the 7th Infantry Division headed by Brig. Gen. Ralph Villanueva to investigate the incident. "We are hoping that the investigation would be completed as soon as possible. If ever the soldiers are found to have been directly involved, they will be subjected to further investigation and dealt with accordingly," said Bacarro.

Palparan and soldiers from the Army's 24th Infantry Battalion reportedly took over the CMI compound and confiscated the employes' belongings. They were shown in a video holed up at the mining firm's compound. Reports said Palparan was asked by a stockholder to take over the firm's security. The video also showed Palparan and the soldiers being dislodged from the compound without any resistance by operatives of the PNP's Special Action Force.

Bacarro could not say how many soldiers were involved. "As of now, we don't have the numbers yet but there is a unit being mentioned..At this point, we can't say what really happened, pending the result of the investigation."

Bacarro said Palparan is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces since he retired back in September 2006 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. At the same time, he said Palparan has no business giving the soldiers any orders precisely because he is retired and has no more authority to direct the soldiers.

"We don't have any jurisdiction over the person of Gen. Palparan but as to the probable or alleged involvement of active military soldiers in that incident, the Armed Forces of the Philippines can make sanctions or take appropriate action against those individuals who may have committed a violation," Bacarro added.