Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said the government is not sitting on the Mamasapano case, but is merely pursuing "new leads" to verify claims that there is an "alternative version" to the clash that left over 60 people dead, including 44 elite police commandos.
De Lima said that verification of this supposed "other version" is what's taking investigators so long to complete the second part of its probe.
The first part of the parallel probe, announced in April, revealed that at least 90 individuals were recommended to be charged for murder and theft. The initial report focused on determining who were responsible for the deaths of 35 of the 44 commandos, who were members of the 55th Special Action Company (SAC).
The second part of the report, meanwhile, is expected to dwell on those responsible for the deaths of the remaining nine commandos from the 84th SAC.
In an interview at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, De Lima said the filing of the first batch of charges was put on hold due to the new leads that would paint another version of the clash.
"Ready na ang transmittal [for the first part] pero minarapat namin na i-hold muna dahil nalaman natin na supposed leads na ito. This is very sensitive. Kailangan maayos ang pagkaka-verify ng information," she said.
"Itong tungkol sa sinabi ng pangulo na alternative version, in-assign din niya ito sa ibang agencies, even the military and police and kami. But because of the sensitivity of the matter, wala muna kaming puwedeng sabihin until may resulta iyong validation sa information," she added.
De Lima said these new leads are being "thoroughly scrutinized bago sabihin na merong another version of the incident."
The Justice secretary added that they would be discussing next week whether the first batch of cases could finally be filed, while verifying the new leads.
During a forum organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday, President Benigno Aquino III said he is still studying an “alternative version” of what transpired during the police operation to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan on Jan. 25.
“Do I have closure? I still have quite a number of questions, and there are various agencies of government tasked to ferret out the truth of exactly what happened in its entirety,” Aquino said.
“There is an alternative version of events that happened there, which is undergoing very intense scrutiny. We are looking for witnesses that will prove or disprove certain observations,” he added.
Killed in the Mamasapano clash were 44 elite policemen, 17 MILF rebels, and five civilians.
The clash happened while government forces were trying to capture international terrorists in the area. The MILF has maintained that its fighters acted in self-defense and has cited violations of ceasefire protocols with the government.
The third-party International Monitoring Team has cited ceasefire violations on either side.
Director Moro Virgilio Lazo, SAF chief, said the elite police unit welcomes the investigation as it will prove or disprove allegations and will also give credit for the death of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir — alias Marwan — to those who deserve it. Marwan was one of the targets of the SAF operation.
The clash happened while government forces were trying to capture international terrorists in the area. The MILF has maintained that its fighters acted in self-defense and has cited violations of ceasefire protocols with the government.
The third-party International Monitoring Team has cited ceasefire violations on either side.
Director Moro Virgilio Lazo, SAF chief, said the elite police unit welcomes the investigation as it will prove or disprove allegations and will also give credit for the death of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir — alias Marwan — to those who deserve it. Marwan was one of the targets of the SAF operation.
He added SAF troopers have already given their statements to the DOJ.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/536391/news/nation/gov-t-pursuing-new-leads-to-check-other-version-of-mamasapano-clash
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