PNP in no rush to act on Trillanes’ info on Mamasapano
MANILA, Philippines – Despite new information coming out after the Senate and the Philippine National Police released their reports on the Mamasapano carnage, the PNP Board of Inquiry has not yet received any directive to investigate the new claims.
The PNP said it would likely wait for the conclusion of the other investigations being undertaken by other government units, as the BOI already released its report earlier this month.
“As far as the PNP is concerned, our BOI has released its official findings. As of now, there is no order for the BOI to reconvene and undertake a new investigation,” said the PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr.
Cerbo issued the statement following Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s claims over the weekend that members of the Special Action Force invited their military counterparts to drink the night before the Mamasapano mission on January 25.
Trillanes, citing information from the Senate’s executive sessions, said the SAF troopers should have informed their military counterparts of the law enforcement operation on the night they went drinking.
Sought for comment, Cerbo said they would not want to immediately judge the SAF, which already lost 44 men from the clash with rebels, but said the SAF has already said it will look into the matter.
“It might be wiser to wait for the other investigations on the Mamasapano incident,” the PNP spokesperson said, citing ongoing investigations by the House of Representatives and other government bodies.
He added that the claims of the senator must be still validated and that the SAF would look into the allegations against its men.
However, the PNP’s top leadership has not issued any guidance on the new allegations.
He clarified that this did not mean the PNP’s lack of interest in investigating the new developments in the Mamasapano debacle.
“Let us wait for the official directive of the PNP leadership. As of now, there are no directives issued so far. But it does not follow
that we are not interested, since there are other ongoing investigations,” Cerbo said.
Meanwhile, the PNP declined to comment on President Aquino’s statement that he was fooled by the ex-PNP chief, Dir. Gen. Alan Purisima, about the top-secret operation to arrest two high profile terrorists.
“The PNP leaves it to appropriate investigating bodies probing this incident… The PNP has no comment on it,” Cerbo said.
Aside from the BOI, the Senate has also released its report on the clash, while the House of Representatives is conducting its own
probe.
Over the weekend, the Commission on Human Rights issued a statement in which it said that labelling the Mamasapano encounter as a massacre was “excessive” and that the use of high-powered firearms and mortars did not immediately equate with cruelty.
Sought for comment, the PNP said the ending of the operations could be categorized as multiple murder under the law.
“For us, this is plain and simple murder,” Cerbo said.
