The 6th Infantry Division had placed under restrictive custody 21 soldiers blamed for the death of an incoming private they reportedly subjected to a strenuous reception rite over the weekend.

Officials of the Army’s 6th ID in Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte said on Monday, August 4, that their commander, Major Gen. Donald Gumiran, had ordered an inquiry on the incident that went viral on Facebook.

The 21 personnel of the 6th Infantry Battalion, a unit of the 601st Infantry Brigade under 6th ID, were tagged as responsible for the demise of Pvt. Charlie Patigayon for subjecting him and several others to a physically taxing traditional military reception procedure at their headquarters in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao del Sur in the Bangsamoro region.

Patigayon and other privates, virtual newcomers to the 6th IB, submitted themselves for the initiation procedure without hesitation, according to officials of 6th IB.

Lt. Col. Roden Orbon, 6th ID’s spokerson, said they are asking for just a little time to wind up the division’s investigation on the issue.

“We are still initiating an extensive probe on the incident. The division does not tolerate practices that can endanger the lives of its troops. A proper investigation must be done to determine the culpability of those accused of having caused the death of this soldier,” Orbon said.

Patigayon passed away in a non-military hospital in Cotabato City, where he was rushed by 6th IB personnel after he complained of breathing difficulty and fainted.

Superiors of Orbon in the 6th ID, among them Col. Rey Rico, the division’s civil-military relations officer, said the 21 soldiers shall be subjected to a due process, or proper investigation, and shall be penalized appropriately if proven to have misbehaved.

“We just have to do it the proper way, under the so-called due process principle,” Rico said.

Patigayon, born and raised in Kulambogan in Lanao del Norte, has just finished an Army candidate soldiers’ training course at Camp O’Donelle in Capas, Tarlac and reported for duty, along with several others, at the 6th IB’s headquarters in Datu Piang just last week.

His remains are now at 6th ID’s chapel in Camp Siongco, not too distant from Cotabato City, seat of the Bangsamoro regional government. (August 4, 2025, Maguindanao del Norte, Bangsamoro Region)