Lawmen urged to ‘walk for justice’

INSPIRED, INFLAMED Students light candles Thursday outside the gates of Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to honor and seek justice for the 44 police commandos killed Jan. 25 by Moro rebels in Maguindanao province. RAFFY LERMA

Graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) have called on other policemen and law enforcers to join a “walk for sympathy and justice” to be held today for the 44 members of the elite Special Action Force (SAF) killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Seven of the police commandos slain in a battle with Moro guerrillas were PNPA graduates in their 20s.

In advisories posted on Facebook and through text messaging, members of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) were urged to join the 10-kilometer walk in support of the call for justice for the fallen SAF heroes. Many members of the PNP, BJMP and BFP are graduates of the police academy.

According to the organizers, the activity will begin at 5 a.m. at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City and end at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, also in Taguig City, where the SAF headquarters is located.

The walk is open to all law enforcement personnel who were advised to wear their uniforms and bring flowers and streamers calling for justice.

On Thursday, the remains of 42 of the 44 slain SAF commandos arrived at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, days after they were killed in an encounter with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The bodies were expected to be brought to Camp Bagong Diwa last night.

The slain police commandos were part of a nearly 400-strong force which took part in “Oplan Wolverine,” an operation to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah militants Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Basit Usman, a Filipino, who were hiding in Mamasapano.

Marwan, who has a $6-million bounty for his capture dead or alive, is considered the Osama bin Laden of Southeast Asia.

Some PNPA alumni have asked the government to award the Medal of Valor to the fallen heroes and allow them to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.