Poe unsure if recording of Mamasapano ‘cover up’ could go public

Senator Grace Poe. FILE PHOTO

Senator Grace Poe said she would accept the alleged audio recording between a ranking government official and a lawmaker about the Mamasapano incident if presented in the Senate hearing but whether or not it would be released to the pubic was another thing.

Poe, who led the Senate probe on Mamasapano as chair of the committee on public order, noted that even the retired police official, Chief Superintendent Diosdado Valeroso, who claimed having a copy of the audio recording acknowledged that he recording was unverified.

READ: Retired cop surfaces with audio recording on Mamasapano ‘cover-up’ — report

“Sa balita ko lang narinig pero sya (Valeroso) mismo ang nagsabi na unverified pa ito. Ngayon kung merong mga ganyan, kelangan pag-ingatan ding mabuti na hindi magkakaroon ng kalituhan pero kahit na anong katotohanan ay kelangang mailabas, kaya tatangapin natin kung ipi-presenta yan ni Senator Enrile…” she said in an interview over dzBB.

The senator was referring to Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, who initiated the reopening of the Senate probe on the Mamasapano operation that left 44 Special Action Force (SAF) men and several others dead. The reopening of the probe is slated on Wednesday.

Asked if the audio recording would be played in the hearing, Poe said the Senate has yet to examine if it was valid.

READ: Duterte to only talk about Mamasapano under oath, in official proceedings

“Number one, kung hindi naman glaring na parang dinoktor lamang ito. Kung wala namang binabanggit na national security threat or issues,” she said.

“Pero kami naman kahit yung aming proceeding dito sa pagdinig na ito ay hindi naman namin sinisekreto kahit na yung executive session namin. Yung pinag-usapan dun, pagbo-botohan na namin kung ilababas yan o hindi. Wala naman sa ngayon, sa informal na pakikipag-usap ko sa mga kasama, wala namang tutol dyan,” Poe added.

She was apparently referring to the closed-door hearings conducted by her committee, along with the committees on peace, unification, and reconciliation, and finance, during the previous hearings on the Mamasapano incident.