Meeting on Tuesday with the families of the cops who were slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao two years go, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would create a commission that would determine what really happened when 44 members of the Special Action Force were slain and to establish accountability for their deaths.
Seven men of integrity and honor will make up the commission, he said. They will be independent and they would be free to summon anybody—even the former president of the country—they deemed necessary.
Duterte believes that the massacre was the result of an America adventure. “You fed [SAF troopers] to the lion’s den,” he said, addressing his immediate predecessor.
We agree the case should be re-opened, and resolved swiftly. At the height of the issue, the public was united in disgust over the incompetence, insensitivity and self-righteousness of the Aquino administration. The days after the massacre —specifically when Mr. Aquino chose to attend a motoring event over meeting the bodies of the slain cops, or when he talked about his own loss of a parent instead of comforting the grieving relatives, or when it was apparent he was protecting some people while eager to put the blame on others—showed us exactly what kind of leader, or person, Mr. Aquino was. And so far he has not been made accountable for his excesses and inadequacies.
But the indignation, as everything that catches the people’s fancy at any given time, the indignation faded and we moved on to other issues. Now two years have passed and we have a new president, and the lessons of Mamasapano seem to have been lost.
We wonder though how the investigation, if it comes to pass, will be able to hold itself up given the many other concerns of the Duterte administration. Because Jan. 25 just recently passed, it is easy to work up the zeal to say let’s dig into the case anew. What happens three, six months from now?
In Mamasapano, cops were victims. It’s difficult to imagine this now when in the current context, it’s the cops committing dastardly deeds in the name of the so-called war on illegal drugs. And by the way, did we not witness yet another call to investigate what really happened in the death of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo and all other victims of policemen twisting their mandate to suit their own purposes.
In both cases, however, one thing stands out: The crucial role that leadership plays. Members of an institution take their cue from the words and demeanor of whoever it is at the helm of the organization. In Mamasapano, Mr. Aquino’s refusal to follow the chain of command and his succeeding efforts to play down what he did wrong just contributed to the demoralization of the force and the entire nation desperate for forthrightness.
Consequently, Mr. Duterte’s pronouncements on taking responsibility will fall flat if he does not demonstrate that he, too, is ready to be held accountable for what his cops do in the name of the war on drugs.