TWO Senate committees will reconvene on Jan. 25 this year to look for new evidence on the Mamasapano incident—and exactly one year after it happened in Maguindanao and resulted in the death of 44 police commandos.
The two panels are the committee on public order and illegal drugs led by Senator Grace Poe and the committee on peace, unification and reconciliation led by Senator Teofisto Guingona III.
Poe led the Senate investigtion into the firefight between police commandos and Muslim rebels that found President Benigno Aquino III “ultimately responsible” for the botched operation that resulted in the death of 44 Special Action Force members.
In ruling on Aquino’s liability, Poe said she agreed that suspended PNP Chief Alan Purisima usurped official functions when he ordered police commandos to launch an operation in Maguindanao to capture Malaysian terrorist Marwan. There, the commandos had a firefight with Muslim rebels that resulted in the death of 44 of them.
In the House, 1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday urged the committee on public order and safety to finally come out with the final report on the results of its probe into the Mamasapano incident.
Bello warned that the failure of the House to come out with a final report would open itself to accusations of covering up on the matter.
“The committee has to come out with a report to avoid the accusation of a grand coverup, but more importantly to give justice to the victims of the massacre,” Bello said.
Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting shared Bello’s views and urged the leaders of the House panels to release their report.
Malacañang on Tuesday said it would recognize whatever the outcome of the investigation of the Senate into the Mamasapano incident.
“We recognize that it is part of the mandate of the Senate to conduct an investigation in aid of legislation and part of its oversight functions,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told reporters.
Poe said that when the two committees reconvened they would listen to possible new information or evidence that might crop up.
Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile had demanded the reopening of the Senate probe on the Mamasapano incident following his release from jail after posting bail on the plunder charges against him.
“It’s good that the Rules Committee gave a signal that additional hearings can be called in response to Minority Leader Enrile’s request to investigation,” Poe said in a statement.
“The new hearings will not affect or void our earlier findings that have been signed by 21 members. There is always an opening if there is new evidence. We will schedule the additional hearings on January 25.”
In another text message, Senator Vicente Sotto III said Enrile might be bringing up new issues that the Senate was not able to tackle.
Maricel V. Cruz and Sandy Araneta
