Cart before the horse in Manila

One does wonder about appearances. In the Philippines, a brigadier general, his deputy, and five other members of the armed forces are suspected of murder. There are civilian criminal proceedings, but the armed forces are considering whether to charge the suspects for administrative (i.e., military) offenses as well. Strange that steps are being taken to set up a court-martial even though no charges have been referred for trial and the required pretrial investigation has not been conducted. The armed forces want custody during what may turn out to simultaneous prosecutions. Details here from the Mindanao Times's Rhoda Grace Saron.