Murder raps filed over Mamasapano

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice on Monday ordered the filing of murder charges against five commanders and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters  and private armed groups  in the deaths of 44 members of the elite police Special Action Force (SAF) during a clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, last year.

In a 55-page resolution, charged with the complex crime of direct assault with murder were Commanders Abdulrahman Abdulrakman Upan, Rakman, Refy Guiaman, Anife and Haumves alias Haves, operation commander of the 105th MILF Base Command, and 83 others.

The DOJ upheld the testimony of eyewitness “Marathon” and 11 others who positively identified the accused.

Credible accounts

“We find that the statements of the witnesses communicated a credible account of the occurrences they perceived on that indelible day of Jan. 25, 2015. Their categorical statements augur well for a finding of probable cause for direct assault with murder,” the DOJ said in a resolution.

Aside from the five commanders, among those charged were Abdul Wahab, Maroks Nanding, Muslimin Gumanding Amilil aka Moslimen Amilil, Repi Gugu aka Riffi Gugu aka Riffi, Ustads Manan Saluwang, Abdul Wahab Kamsa, Aladin Sakal, Alex Ampatuan, Aljun Baklayan, Benjie Ampatuan, Bitol Guiaman, Boden Hadji Mao aka Sahabudin Kedza, Borgo Kasan, Borgo Kasnan, Hadji Abdulsalam, Hadji Mohammad and others.

The DOJ said those charged were positively identified  as direct participants in the crime and should be indicted.

Witnesses said the 55th Special Action Company (SAC) maintained a defensive perimeter, giving the armed men the option to continue the assault or to retreat.

No match

But the respondents still continued to fire shots at the SAF troopers despite knowing they were police officers, the witnesses said.

The witnesses said some of the respondents even bragged that the SAF were no match for their fighting prowess. The troopers, Marathon said, had raised their arms in surrender but the armed men still shot at them.

PNP Crime Laboratory records showed the victims sustained fatal shots in the neck, trunk, upper chest and lower abdomen from high powered firearms.

The SAF troopers were on a mission to serve arrest warrants on Malaysian terrorist Sulkifli bin Hir aka  Marwan and his alleged cohort Abdul Basit Usman.