AFP ends inquiry, clears itself on SAF deaths

MANILA, Philippines - Army units provided enough assistance to the police Special Action Force in the encounter with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that resulted in the death of 44 of the SAF commandos last Jan. 25, a military fact-finding committee said.

Survivors of the massacre said the military failed to send reinforcements requested by the SAF during the clashes that lasted up to 12 hours.

In a report presented to the military leadership Sunday night, the fact-finding committee said the Army was not remiss in its duty to assist the beleaguered SAF members.

“The committee was able to establish that the Army had readily provided support by organizing a quick reaction force composed of troops from different infantry units, including armored assets of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which were deployed for the extraction of wounded SAF personnel,” Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said.

The police commandos launched an operation in Mamasapano to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his Maguindanaon cohort Basit Usman who have been linked to the international terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Marwan, who has a $5-million bounty, was allegedly killed during the operation while Usman escaped. Marwan’s body has not yet been recovered for verification.

“The DNA testing that is currently undertaken will prove his reported death in Mamasapano,” he added.

Meanwhile, the military clarified that no reward money was released when security officials claimed in 2012 that Marwan was killed.

Cabunoc said the military’s announcement about the supposed death of the Malaysian terrorist was “based on the existing intelligence data during that time.”

The former chief of the armed forces, Gen. Jessie Dellosa, did not endorse the approval of the cash reward claim for the informant because there was a validated report that Marwan was able to escape unharmed, Cabunoc said.

In 2012, the military announced that 15 terrorists, including Marwan, were killed in an early morning air strike in Parang, Sulu.

Two years later, security officials admitted that Marwan might have escaped from the encounter site.

Cabunoc said the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) started providing support an hour after being informed of the clash until the early morning of Jan. 26, when SAF members trapped inside Mamasapano were located and brought out of the encounter site.

The Army, Cabunoc claimed, was informed of the encounter at around 5 a.m.

“The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) categorically states that everything that could be done was done under the circumstances with due consideration to avoid fratricide and collateral damage,” he added.

The fact-finding committee was led by AFP Inspector-General Benito Antonio de Leon. The findings of the committee were presented to AFP chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. at the Camp Aguinaldo General Headquarters Sunday night.

The fact-finding mission effectively cleared military ground units of any responsibility for the delayed sending of reinforcement in Mamasapano.

Earlier, some critics questioned the supposed failure of the armed forces to assist the police commandos who were involved in the lopsided clash with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Military officials have denied this, saying the SAF’s appeal for reinforcements came too late.

A military source that requested anonymity said the Maguindanao-based 6th ID had prepared air and artillery assets and ground troops to assist the SAF operatives.

Limited info

The Army troops, however, did not have enough information about the whereabouts of the policemen.

“It appeared that there was limited information so there was not enough support given,” the source said, adding that there was no intention to delay the sending of troops.

“They (Army) did not know where to send the assets,” he added.

Questions remain as to why even Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director Leonardo Espina and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II were not informed. Sources, however, said a unit might choose to keep details of a sensitive mission under wraps.

Cabunoc said the fact-finding is limited to the acts of the Army during the bloody encounter.

The board of inquiry (BOI) created by the Philippine National Police will cover other aspects of the clash.

The BOI on the SAF operations in Maguindanao is headed by Director Benjamin Magalong, chief of the Criminal Investigation and detection Group (CIDG), with members Director Catalino Rodriguez of the Operational Audit, Chief Superintendent John Sosito, Senior Superintendents Benigno Durana Jr., Cesar Binag and Robert Po.

Espina said yesterday that the BOI would find out what really happened in Mamasapano.

“What we want to know is the full account. The audit team will look into the matter from planning to the actual police operations and up to the last moment of our SAF men,” said Espina, who vowed to get to the bottom of the incident.

Espina wished he had been given the chance to lead the SAF commandos in Mamasapano, saying dying with his men would have been his deepest honor.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said even President Aquino and suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima will not be spared in the investigation.

There were reports that relieved SAF chief Director Getulio Napeñas was directly reporting to Aquino and Purisima.

Napeñas had bypassed Roxas and Espina.

Malacañang is in favor of simultaneous investigations into the Mamasapano encounter, saying that there will no sacred cows or whitewash in the efforts to uncover the truth.

But presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, in a press briefing, said he could not comment on the proposed Truth Commission because he had not seen the details or the mechanics for its creation.

“Right now, I understand that there are four bodies which will seek to investigate the Mamasapano clash: the Board of Inquiry, the House, the Senate and also I think the International Monitoring Team (IMT),” Lacierda said.

Lacierda appealed to all sectors to withhold judgment as there had been speculations or conclusions even before the investigations started.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. proposed yesterday the House of Representatives and the Senate merge their respective inquiries to save time and not hamper ongoing investigations in the executive.

Belmonte also disclosed the House committee on public order and safety will move its scheduled first hearing on the Mamasapano incident to next week but its members will meet today to set ground rules for the probe.

He said a joint congressional inquiry into the bloodbath involving personnel of the SAF and Moro rebels was more appropriate than forming a truth commission as pushed by some senators.

“Congress is the proper party to investigate first, it has certain inherent powers that are there in our Constitution, and we don’t need anymore resolution to call the meeting to empower the committee to set meetings. We have procedures, we have rules on doing it,” he said.

He said he raised the matter with Negros Occidental Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer, chairman of the panel, and the latter agreed. He said the panel would also relay the proposal to the Senate counterpart committee.

Belmonte said Muslim lawmakers were also worried about the creation of a truth commission as it could create anti-Muslim sentiments.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Speaker Belmonte should not have postponed the public hearing on the SAF commandos since Congress should not wait for the result of BOI investigation.

The Senate panel that will conduct an inquiry into the Mamasapano massacre has reset the public hearings next week on the request of PNP officer-in-charge Espina. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Aurea Calica, Non Alquitran, Edith Regalado, Jun Elias, Eva Visperas, Ding Cervantes