THE cases filed against former President Benigno Aquino III over the Mamasapano fiasco were too light.
This was the contention of the anti-crime group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, which vowed to conduct a reinvestigation into the bloody, which claimed the lives of 44 Special Action Force commandos.
According to VACC chairman Dante Jimenez, their lawyer would seek a reinvestigation of the case and take their concern to the Department of Justice.
“Nag-usap na kami ng aming mga abogado at pag-aaralan naming mabuti ang pag-imbestiga muli sa kaso. Masyadong mababaw ang kasong inihain ng Office of the Ombudsman laban kay Noynoy Aquino,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez was referring to the case filed by the Ombudsman against the former president over his alleged role in the anti-terrorist operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in 2015.
Aquino faces charges for graft and usurpation of official function, charges that the VACC said were too light.
The families of the 44 slain elite police officials, with the help of the VACC, said they will not join in the proceedings of the Ombudsman’s cases against Aquino.
Earlier, VACC legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio said the Ombudsman is protecting Aquino from more grievous charges with the complaints it file.
“We say again that the said charges are designed to fail—in order to inoculate President Aquino against the graver charge of mass homicide which could possibly put him behind bars for the rest of his life,” Topacio said.
Aquino had defended himself and instead blamed SAF commander Getulio Napeñas for the failure of the anti-terror operation in Mamasapano.
In a press conference at his Quezon City residence last Friday, Aquino said he was made to believe that the operation was coordinated with the military as he instructed.
“May presumption of regularity… Itong tao na pinromote ko, hindi naman siguro ako bobolahin,” Aquino said of Napeñas.
Unconvinced by Aquino’s passing the blame on Napeñas, VACC’s Jimenez said they are also looking into the possibility of making the former SAF chief a state witness for graver cases against former President Aquino.
The VACC is looking at reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide as one of the possible charges against Aquino for the deaths of 44 SAF members.