Palace mum on MILF refusal to surrender men in Mamasapano carnage

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang did not say on Sunday whether it found acceptable the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s reported decision not to surrender combatants involved in the massacre of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the Palace would instead wait for the actual filing of charges against those who shot it out with members of the Special Action Forces.

“It is best to wait for the filing of charges, as this is speculative at this time. In any case, it is the responsibility of the government to enforce the law,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, echoing the position taken by Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles.

The MILF leadership was earlier reported as saying that the secessionist group preferred that combatants who engaged SAF troopers in Mamasapano be the subject of its own internal investigation.

Malacañang challenged the Moro rebels to prove that they could still be “trusted” in the peace process by identifying those involved in the massacre of SAF troopers. The Palace also told the MILF to assist the government in hunting down terrorist Basit Usman, or at least, not get in the way.

The MILF was also asked to return the rest of the firearms seized from the fallen SAF troopers.

The demands came amid intense public pressure for the government to bring justice to the police commandos, who were trying to serve arrest warrants on Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Usman. Marwan was killed while Usman escaped. But 44 SAF men were killed by MILF fighters and other armed groups in the ensuing encounter.

President Aquino, in particular, is under fire for allegedly not doing enough as commander in chief to help save the SAF troopers. Speaking with different media outlets, some of the relatives of the fallen troopers also criticized him for allegedly scolding them during a meeting in Camp Crame last week.

The President was allegedly irritated or dismissive when asked on different occasions in the meeting how his administration intended to bring justice to the SAF members.

It’s still not clear whether Aquino would be asked to shed light on the operation — which he allegedly monitored through his close friend, suspended Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima—in parallel investigations by Congress and the PNP’s board of inquiry.

Coloma said the Palace was “not aware if the PNP or the Senate has decided to formally request the President to answer questions or provide information.”

But he said Aquino has remained “committed to ferreting out the truth” and that his “current and future actions are based on his assessment on what will best serve the national interest.”