Up to 800 MILF fighters attacked SAF, say probers

By: Jeoffrey Maitem, Karlos Manlupig, Marlon Ramos, Nash Maulana - 10 years ago

MAMASAPANO, Maguindanao—The lead police investigator on Wednesday said up to 800 fighters from at least three base commands of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) took part in the Jan. 25 attack on a Special Action Force (SAF) mission that left 44 police commandos dead.

Director Benjamin Magalong, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police and head of the PNP board of inquiry, told the Inquirer that he had confirmed that MILF fighters from the 118th, 105th and 106th base commands were involved in the clash.

Magalong said that when fighting broke out around 7 a.m. on Jan. 25, residents of Tukanalipao and nearby areas, all members of the MILF, rushed to the site of the clash and joined the fray.

“We hope we can talk directly to an MILF field commander so we can also get their side,” Magalong said.

He cited initial board of inquiry findings that 700 to 800 MILF members were involved in the clash.

The board of inquiry was in Maguindanao on Tuesday and Wednesday for an inspection of the clash site in Mamasapano town.

Short notice

A source said the board came on short notice, coordinating its visit with the local military command only on Monday night.

“The military had to scramble its men to facilitate the activity of the [board of inquiry],” the source said.

The military sent word to the MILF to enable the group to reposition its fighters to protect the members of the board of inquiry.

Von Al Haq, MILF vice chair for military affairs, said the group’s 105th Base Command was given clearance and directives to assist in the police investigation.

No clearance

Magalong was supposed to meet the 118th Base Command chief, Wahid Tundoc, in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town on Tuesday, but the meeting was canceled because the MILF Central Committee did not give Tundoc permission to speak to the police investigators.

Samsudin Dimaukom, mayor of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, said he arranged the meeting between Magalong and Tundoc, which was to be held at his house at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Dimaukom said he wanted Tundoc to be interviewed by the board because he was involved in arranging the ceasefire between government security forces and the Moro rebels on Jan. 25.

“Actually it’s already fixed but he (Tundoc) asked permission from their leaders. Apparently, he did not get the green light,” Dimaukom told the Inquirer.

There was no comment from the MILF about the scrapped meeting.

Dimaukom said he tried to arrange another meeting between Magalong and Tundoc at his house in Cotabato City, but his efforts failed again because Tundoc preferred that Magalong meet with Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs.

Magalong’s group, along with reporters, was at Jaafar’s house at Camp Darapanan at 10 a.m., and finally Tundoc came, arriving around 1 p.m.

‘It’s OK’

But after shaking hands with Magalong and Jaafar, Tundoc excused himself for afternoon prayers.

Magalong was visibly disappointed, but said the board could not compel Tundoc and other MILF leaders to talk to the board.

“Maybe he had second thoughts and decided not to be interviewed. It’s OK. We cannot compel him if he doesn’t want to speak up,” Magalong said.

“They (the MILF) have their own process and they are doing their own probe. They have reasons why they don’t want to talk for now,” he said.

“We respect his decision. But at least he decided to show up,” he added.

He said Tundoc casually talked with the team in some brief encounters, but the board preferred a formal interview.

Magalong said, however, that the information the investigators needed from the MILF commanders was not really vital to the probe.

“We only want to clarify gray areas with them, but [if] we can’t get it from them, we can sort it out with other sources,” he said.

Authorities said earlier that Zakaria Goma, commander of the MILF 105th Base Command, and his followers were the ones who clashed with the SAF commandos.

But Magalong declined to answer when asked whether the MILF Central Committee would allow the board of inquiry to talk with other MILF commanders.

Formal request needed

Al Haq told the Inquirer earlier that any government institution or body could not directly talk or meet with leaders of the base commands without a formal request.

“They cannot just directly talk with the base commands. If they wish to have a meeting with the commanders, there should be a formal request, which will be coursed through the peace panels,” Al Haq said.

The procedure is required under the ceasefire agreement with the government as part of the peace process, he said.

But Magalong talked to Jaafar during his visit on Wednesday to Camp Darapanan, the MILF’s main camp.

“We had a very constructive chat, that is a big help to us,” Magalong said.

He said the board hoped to get a copy of the MILF’s final report on its investigation of the clash before the team wrapped up the probe.

Jaafar said the MILF investigation was finished and the report would be submitted to the Malaysian facilitator of the peace talks with the government.