Robin Padilla seeks unbiased probe into bloody Datu Paglas operation

Sen. Robin Padilla during one of the committee hearings in the Senate. Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Robin Padilla is urging the Senate to investigate the alleged violations in the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after a bloody June 18 law enforcement operation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur, that killed seven MILF members.

Padilla on Monday underscored the need to act on Senate Resolution 664, which he recently filed to urge the appropriate committee to look into the fatal police-military combined operations.

The military had claimed that the slain individuals were members of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. The MILF, however, disputed this, saying the people killed were members of their group.

READ: MILF blasts state troops for killing of 7 members in Maguindanao del Sur 

“What the people there are saying is it was an extrajudicial killing. And that’s not good for the peace process. We don’t want that. Because then, the peace developments in the past years would go to waste. I hope this won’t be the reason for our peace process to crumble,” Padilla said in Filipino during a media interview in the Senate.

Asked why he thinks a Senate probe is necessary instead of leaving it to the hands of law enforcement bodies, he said, “To avoid bias.”

“Because, of course, we can’t avoid that when a law enforcement agency investigates the matter, the other side will say it’s biased,” the lawmaker explained.

In Padilla’s resolution, he cited the resolution of the Central Committee of the MILF that urged the government to probe the incident.

It also sought the government to “genuinely and sincerely implement all aspects of the normalization process.”

READ: MILF seeks independent probe on deadly Datu Paglas ops 

With this, Padilla pressed, “It is imperative for the Senate to shed light on the matter and to ensure that the integrity of the peace process is preserved through mutual and faithful compliance with the provisions of the peace agreements by all parties involved.”

JPV/abc