Reopening of Mamasapano case as elections loom a bad idea—solons

THE Mamasapano incident is nearing its one year anniversary, and yet the House of Representatives has yet to release the results of its investigation on the bloody gun battle.

The House does not intend to hide the report, however, but only wanted to make sure the findings are complete before releasing it to the public, said Negros Occidental Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer, who chairs the chamber’s public order and safety committee conducting the probe.

Ferrer made the statement as the Senate upon the initiative of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile moved to reopen the probe on Jan. 25, the first year anniversary of the bloody attack in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao.

The Jan. 25 attack gripped public as 44 members of the police Special Action Force and five people were killed in a firefight with private armed groups and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces.

In the aftermath of the incident, the proposed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), which would implement the MILF’s peace deal with the government,  was jeopardized.

At least 18 MILF fighters were killed, but the government forces suffered biggest casualties. Amateur videos of alleged MILF fighters shooting the SAF commandos at close range also fueled public outrage against the MILF.

The Mamasapano operation targeted international terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan. SAF operatives found him in a hut in an MILF territory and killed him.

The MILF has denied coddling Marwan, but its involvement in the gun battle with the government troops who were leaving Mamasapano after the mission has shaken the legislators’ confidence in their Moro peace partner.

Ferrer said reopening the Mamasapano probe, which took the House three public hearings and a 14-hour executive session last year to conclude, may degenerate into politicking with the 2016 elections looming.

2016 elections

Ferrer cited the senatorial bid of sacked SAF director Gen. Getulio Napeñas, who was blamed for the botched attack because he kept the antiterror raid dubbed “Oplan Exodus” to himself instead of coordinating it with his superiors.

It was also revealed that when the Mamasapano mission kicked off, Napeñas was acting upon the orders of dismissed police chief Alan Purisima instead of reporting to the then acting police chief Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.

Napeñas is running under the ticket of opposition bet Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Ferrer also mentioned the senatorial bid of ACT CIS Rep. Samuel Pagdilao, who is running under the banner of Senator Grace Poe. Pagdilao, a former police official, is a vice chairperson of the House public order and safety committee.

“May mga pulitika ito. Ang purpose natin ay mabigyan ng justice yung mga namatay… Baka naman gamitin lang sa pulitika. Napeñas is running for senator. Pagdilao is also running for senator,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer said he also feared that the opposition may use the report to pin the blame on President Benigno Aquino III.

Ferrer said the probe did not find Aquino liable because the president categorically told Napeñas to coordinate with his superiors.

President Aquino authorized Purisima to oversee the Mamasapano operation despite the latter’s suspension for graft. He has also blamed Napeñas for disobeying orders to coordinate with his superiors.

A police Board of Inquiry report however said both Aquino and Napeñas violated the chain of command for keeping in the dark Espina and then Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

“Sa imbestigasyon, hindi naman siya liable. Responsible, but not liable,” Ferrer said of Aquino.

Ferrer hinted that a second probe of the Mamasapano case with the elections nearing might just suffer the same fate of the first day of the Mamasapano House probe on Feb. 11 last year, when legislators, who were moved by public outrage over the attack, upstaged each other during the conduct of the investigation.

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Netizens who watched a live telecast of the hearing have described the first Mamasapano probe as a circus.

Ferrer said his committee and another panel jointly investigating the incident – the  peace, reconciliation and unity committee – have already prepared a draft report.

Even though the report has been in the drawers for almost a year now, Ferrer said the committees do not intend to hide the results of their investigation.

He denied hiding the report to save the BBL from being thrown away in Congress.

Legislators’ support for the BBL waned following the firefight that involved the MILF, the main benefactor of the BBL, despite an existing peace agreement. The House is rushing to pass the BBL before the new administration takes over.

The BBL, which seeks to create a more politically autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, has been stuck in the plenary since June 2015. It was filed in Congress only on Sept. 2014.

“Paano natin ilalabas kung draft pa naman at hindi pa naman final? That is premature. Pwede pa yan mabago eh,” Ferrer said of the Mamasapano report.

“I have no reaction na tinatago (yung report). Wala namang tinatago diyan eh. Yung akin, hindi gagamitin yung report natin (sa pulitika). Ma-discuss muna ang BBL bago itong report,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer said it is taking the House of Representatives some time to finish its report because of the sheer number of legislators. Unlike the Senate, at least 80 representatives are members of the two committees which investigated the Mamasapano.

“May mga proseso tayo. We have to convene again these two committees because the draft report is up for discussions. Baka may mga inputs pa sila,” Ferrer said.

LP official

As expected, an official of Aquino’s Liberal Party (LP) said reopening the Mamasapano probe only seeks to pin down the Aquino administration.

The Senate will reopen its investigation upon the request of Senator Enrile, who faces a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan under this administration.

Enrile wanted to reopen the case so he could ask more questions. He was under hospital detention for plunder when the Senate conducted its probe last year. Enrile was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

“Stop flogging a dead horse. We have to move on and let the lessons of Mamasapano guide us for the future. Re-opening this Mamasapano issue for the purpose of politicking is the highest form of disrespect and dishonor on the memories of our fallen policemen,” Iloilo city Rep. Jerry Trenas said. Trenas is LP Parliamentary Caucus Deputy Chair for Visayas.

“Clearly, the purpose of this move to re-open the Mamasapano issue on the basis on alleged new evidence related to the incident is nothing more than a political gimmickry.   They want to squeeze this issue dry pin down the Aquino administration,” he added.

Ex-military, police solons own report

Should the House committees fail to release the results of its investigation, a bloc of former police and military officials in the House vowed to release its own report based on their own findings.

“Ibabase namin ang report sa evidence, sa testimony, sa hearing at the Philippine National Police report. Hopefully may outline na before the January 25 anniversary (ng Mamasapano incident)..,” said Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, a retired police general and a former police director.

Acop is a member of the bloc which called itself the “Saturday Group.” The other members are former police directors Pagdilao and Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, as well as former soldiers Magdalo party-list Reps. Ashley Acedillo at Gary Alejano.

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