Palace calls owner of SAF shooting video ‘heartless’

Screengrab from alleged SAF shooting video

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Wednesday blasted the person behind a video posted on social media allegedly showing how a Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) trooper was killed during the clash in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao last month.

“Whoever uploaded the video is a heartless fellow. If you still have some humanity left in your soul, and we ask you to take it down,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a Palace briefing.

The six-minute video shows a PNP-SAF member being shot at close range. The rest of the footage shows armed men taking the weapons and equipment of the slain troopers.

Lacierda said the public had the “right to be angry.” He said he was also able to watch the video on Tuesday evening, when it first went viral on Facebook. One copy of the video has been viewed 1.48 million times as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“You have a right to be outraged by such brutal display of violence. But at the end of the day you need to seek the truth. You need to find justice for all of those who died, including the SAF hero who was in that video,” he explained.

The Secretary said they do not know who released the video and what his motive was.

“It came as a surprise as well,” he said.

RELATED STORIES

PNP hurting as alleged video of SAF shooting spreads online

Gov’t exec confirms viral shooting video taken during Mamasapano clash