Senate kicks off probe into Zamboanga siege

A Government trooper rests amidst the ruins at the site of a three-week intense fighting between Government forces and Muslim rebels who have taken nearly 200 people hostages and used them as human shields, Saturday Sept. 28, 2013 in Zamboanga city, southern Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate began on Thursday its investigation into the bloody siege of Zamboanga City last year.

The joint inquiry by the committees on national defense and security, and peace, unification and reconciliation was prompted by two resolutions filed at the Senate, which sought to find out the “true cause” and “motives” behind the attack.

Invited to the hearing were Local Government Secretary  Mar Roxas  III, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Secretary  Teresita “Ging” Deles, presidential adviser on peace process, Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco, police and   local officials.

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