Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO
MANILA, Philippines—In an effort to balance its investigation of the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is reaching out to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) anew and asking the group for a copy of its own probe of the incident, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Wednesday.
De Lima also called on Congress to resume deliberations on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), saying legislative work on the bill should not be affected by the clash that took the lives of 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) commandos.
While declining to speak about the status of the DOJ special panel’s investigation because of its sensitivity, De Lima gave the assurance that her team was looking into all sides despite difficulties in getting a copy of the MILF report.
April 2 deadline
The team, composed of state prosecutors and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, is working to meet an April 2 deadline to complete the investigation and recommend who should be held criminally liable for the deaths in Mamasapano.
“You know that what we’re doing is an objective, thorough and balanced investigation. So even if we’re waiting for justice for the SAF 44, let’s not forget what the MILF is saying, that they also have victims, and that there were also civilian victims,” De Lima said.
The MILF has said its investigation of the clash has been completed, but the report will be submitted to Malaysia, facilitator of peace talks between the government and the Moro group.
She said the DOJ earlier sent a letter to the MILF to request a copy of its own investigation report, but had yet to receive a reply.
The DOJ investigators, she said, have difficulty looking into the MILF deaths because they do not know who were killed and have not seen proofs of death.
Proof of death
De Lima stressed the importance of proof of death in criminal cases.
She added, however, that she would not know whether the MILF report included proof of death.
De Lima said she would send another letter to the MILF leadership to reiterate the DOJ request.
“[I]’m going to send a follow-up letter, and I hope to relay to them the message that we are also going to look into that (MILF deaths) so they won’t think that our investigation is one-sided,” De Lima said.
“This should be balanced because we have to know the whole story,” she said.
Justice also for MILF
NBI Director Virgilio Mendez said the investigation needed to know the MILF side of the Mamasapano incident.
“Justice should not be only for the government forces but also for others who could have been killed unnecessarily,” Mendez said.
“We want to get the MILF side of the story, particularly in view of all that had been coming out that there were brutal killings on both sides,” he said.
Mendez said the joint investigation by the NBI and the DOJ team led by State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera intended to determine the criminal aspect of the Mamasapano clash and the liability of those involved.
He said the investigators would likely meet the April 2 deadline set by De Lima.
Back channel efforts
Mendez said back channel efforts were going on for talks with the MILF leadership about the Mamasapano incident.
“I hope the MILF will allow it,” he said.
Mendez gave assurance that the investigation was fair.
“There will be no cover-up in the investigation. Charges will be filed against anyone regardless of whether they are government forces or not,” he said.
Several investigations, including by Congress and by the PNP, are simultaneously going on to determine why the Jan. 25 SAF operation to capture international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” and his Filipino deputy, Basit Usman, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, turned into a bloodbath between the police commandos and rebels from the MILF and its splinter group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The SAF commandos killed Marwan during the operation, but Usman got away.
As the commandos withdrew from the town, they were attacked by BIFF and MILF guerrillas, losing 44 companions in a daylong gun battle.
Five civilians were killed in the crossfire.
BBL hearings
De Lima said that while the investigations by different government agencies were going on, Congress should proceed to work on the draft BBL, which would complete the peace process between the government and the MILF.
The draft BBL would establish an autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, as provided for in the peace agreement signed between the government and the MILF nearly a year ago.
Several lawmakers withdrew their support for the BBL in the wake of the Mamasapano tragedy, throwing in doubt the completion of the peace process.
“I agree with those who are saying that talks about pushing for the BBL should be separate from the Mamasapano incident,” De Lima said.
‘Waste of time’
She said that the suspension of the BBL hearings in both the Senate and the House of Representatives was a waste of time.
“Can’t they resume [the hearings] first while awaiting [the] results of the investigation? [I]t seems they are imposing that (completion of the investigation) as a condition. But I hope they [will] separate that and focus on whether the BBL, as presented to Congress, would pass constitutional scrutiny, it will pass based on limitations in the Constitution,” she said.
A DOJ inspection of the site of the Mamasapano clash last week was canceled because of fighting between government forces and BIFF rebels near the area.
De Lima said, however, that the DOJ team, which included NBI investigators, managed to get statements from vital witnesses.