Poe: Senate won’t compel Aquino to attend Mamasapano probe

Senator Grace Poe. FILE PHOTO

President Benigno Aquino III cannot be compelled to attend the Mamasapano probe at the Senate but he may issue a sworn affidavit if he wants to, Senator Grace Poe has said.

“Ang Pangulo ay mayroong immunity. Hindi naman natin siya pwedeng pilitin na dumalo sa ganitong pagdinig. Siguro kung magkakaroon ng affidavit ang ating Pangulo na sinumpaan din, pwedeng gamitin ito na basehan,” Poe said in a recent radio interview.

(The president has immunity. We cannot compel him to attend such hearings. But if he has a signed affidavit, we can use it as basis.)

Poe chairs the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, which is set to reopen the Mamasapano probe on January 27, 2016 along with the committees on peace, unification and reconciliation, and finance.

Senate Minority Juan Ponce Enrile, who initiated the reopening of the probe, earlier claimed that he has evidence that the President was “actively” and “directly” in the Mamasapano operation that left 44 Special Action Force (SAF) men and several others dead.

READ: Enrile out to prove Aquino’s ‘direct’ involvement in Mamasapano

The President was not included, however, in a list of 24 invited resource persons, most of them officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The list includes Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, former AFP Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang, retired PNP chief Alan Purisima, and former PNP Special Action Force (SAF) Director Getulio Napeñas.

READ: Over 20 resource persons invited to new Mamasapano probe

Poe urged all resource persons to attend voluntarily and not wait for the committee to issue them a subpoena as it would only prolong the process.

“Hinihikayat ko lahat ng inimbitahan at pinadalahan namin ng liham na dumalo para mas mabilis na natin matapos ito. Kung hindi sila dumalo, mas matatagalan sapagkat baka ipatawag sila muli sa isa na namang pagdinig,” she said.

(I urge those invited and who received letters to attend the hearing so we can finish it faster. If they do not attend it, we will prolong the process as they may be called on to attend another hearing.)

“Alam naman natin na matagal na itong sugat na ito na napakabagal din maghilom. Ang paglalahad ng kanilang nalalaman ay isang proseso para pagalingin na rin natin lahat ng mga hinanaing at sakit natin,” the senator added.

(We all know that this wound is taking a while before it heals. Their revelation of their side to the story is part of the process to help those involved heal.)

Poe said senators have agreed to give the floor to Enrile since it was the latter, who moved for the re-opening of the investigation.

Enrile was in detention for plunder during the Mamasapano hearings last year.

“Para sa interes din nating lahat na matanong niya ang sabi niyang hindi pa natatanong para naman malaman natin kung mayroon ngang pagkukulang. Ang pakay natin dito ay maisaayos ang batas na huwag na maulit ang ganitong klaseng trahedya at magkaroon naman ng hustisya ang mga biktima,” said Poe.

(It will serve our interest for him to ask the questions which he said have not been asked so we would know if there were really shortcomings. Our objective is to make sure that there would be laws which would not allow for the same kind of tragedy to happen again and to give justice to the victims.)

She also cautioned returning resource persons that they would be held liable if found to have withheld information that they already had during the series of hearings and executive sessions last year.

“Ang puno’t dulo ng pagdinig na ito ay para malaman kung ano talaga ang nangyari. Dapat boluntaryo na nilang ibinigay kung ano man ang nalalaman nila. Kaya hindi rin ako bilib sa mga nagsasabi na, ‘e, depende sa tanong.’ E kung mayroon pa palang kulang, sila na mismo dapat ang boluntaryong nagsabi niyan nu’ng nag-executive session kami,” Poe added.

(The intention of this hearing is to know what really happened. They should voluntarily divulge what they know. That’s why I don’t really believe those who say that they were or are just answering the questions asked to them. If we did not ask enough questions, they should have told us when we had an executive session.)

Poe reiterated that she is standing by the report of the committees signed by 21 senators, which found, among others, the President as commander-in-chief “ultimately responsible” for the incident. IDL

READ: Senate draft report: Aquino ‘ultimately responsible’ for Mamasapano mission