Senate directs gov’t peace panel to secure copy of MILF report on Mamasapano

Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senators adopted on Tuesday a resolution, directing the government peace negotiating panel to request and secure from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a copy of its investigation report on the Mamasapano incident that resulted in the death of 44 elite police commandos.

No senator objected when Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on local government, sought the approval of Senate Resolution 1240 which he initiated.

The resolution also directed the government peace panel to formally request from the international monitoring team (IMT), a copy of the MILF investigation report.

“We have already read the other reports. We also need to see the MILF investigation report so we will know what really happened,” Marcos said when he presented the resolution on the floor.

The senator earlier said in media interviews that he would only resume the hearings of his committee on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law if the MILF will submit to the body a copy of its report on its own investigation on the Mamasapano incident. He suspended his committee’s deliberations on the BBL immediately after the incident.

But in a press briefing Monday, Marcos said his committee is set to resume its proceedings on the BBL on April 13, 2015.

In the resolution, the senator noted the reported plan of the MILF to submit its report to the Malaysian-led IMT composed n of representatives from Japan, Indonesia, and Brunei, and supported by the United States and the European Union.

“For full transparency and accountability, there is a crucial need for the Philippine government to be properly informed of the full investigation report of the MILF on the Mamasapano incident m in order to strengthen the ceasefire mechanisms that may be included in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law pending in Congress,” it said.

The government peace negotiating panel headed by chairperson Miriam Coronel-Ferrer tasked to pursue peace talks with  the MILF, the resolution said, “should exert utmost  efforts to secure the MILF investigation report so that  the truth behind the Mamasapano tragedy that claimed the lives  of 44 SAF (Special Action Force ) heroes, will be revealed.”

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