President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at a program in South Cotabato | FILE PHOTO: Screengrab from RTVM
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Justice to conduct a “separate, independent, and fair” investigation into the joint police and military operation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur, which killed seven Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members on June 18.
Senator Robin Padilla, who had called for a Senate inquiry into the fatal incident, said Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito Galvez Jr. told him about this in a meeting on Thursday morning.
Padilla said Galvez bared details of the “executive department’s swift response” to the call of the MILF Central Committee for the conduct of an independent investigation into the matter.
READ: MILF seeks independent probe on deadly Datu Paglas ops
“Secretary Galvez informed me that the President ordered a separate, independent, and fair investigation by the Department of Justice into what happened,” the lawmaker said in a statement.
Padilla pressed for the government’s implementing panel, the MILF coordinating panel on the cessation of hostilities, and the ad hoc joint action group to talk about possibly joining forces for verification and investigation of the bloody incident.
He also called for the Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission and the Commission on Human Rights to come together for the investigation “to ensure that human rights are upheld.”
“All these being considered, I am giving way to the investigation. I trust that the DOJ and other agencies will move to address the issues raised by the MILF,” Padilla said.
Padilla had earlier urged 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.”
According to the military, the slain individuals were members of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. But the MILF disputed this, saying the people killed in the June 18 law enforcement operation were members of their group.
READ: MILF blasts state troops for killing of 7 members in Maguindanao del Sur