4 of 90 respondents appear before the justice department to insist they're not rebels
JUSTICE SOUGHT. In this file photo, Philippine police commandos carry body bags containing the remains of their comrades killed in a clash with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano. File photo by AFP
The justice department on Friday, November 27, began its preliminary probe into the complaint against 90 rebels and members of private armies allegedly involved in the Mamasapano bloodbath that killed more than 60 people including policemen.
But of the 90 respondents directly implicated in the killing of 35 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) in January 2015, only 4 appeared before the four-member panel led by Assistant State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez.
Lakman K. Dawaling and Pendadtun Utek Makakua, two of the 4 respondents present in Friday's hearing, denied that they were field commanders of the 118th Base Command of the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
(READ: Timeline: Mamasapano clash)
Dawaling, through his counsel Ronald Torres, submitted before the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel a certification signed by Abdulwahid Tondok of the MILF's 118th Base Command stating that he “is not a field commander of 118th Base Command and he is a civilian.”
“We have a copy of the certification from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that this person [Dawaling]is indeed not a field commander, but a mere civilian. As a matter of fact, he was one of those who helped the PNP to rescue or to assist in the incident, taking of all those [bodies] and in the clearing operations,” Torres said.
Makakua's lawyer, Carlos Valdez Jr. said that his client signed an affidavit stating that he's not a commander of 118th Base Command, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
“Makakua is a farmer. In accordance with his Comelec ID, as a voter, he's a farmer. And he [Makakua] only finished 6th grade, in accordance with his affidavit,” Valdez told reporters.
Another respondent, Mustapha Inggo Tatak, submitted a separate certification from the Department of the Interior and Local Government stating that he is the duly elected Punong Barangay of Barangay Sapakan in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
The DOJ panel handling the complaint gave the 90 respondents to submit their counter-affidavits when the preliminary probe resumes on December 17.
The Mamasapano clash became the worst crisis to hit the Aquino administration, as it was triggered by a secret operation supervised by then suspended National Police chief Alan Purisima. The target was alleged terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who was killed in the operation that claimed the biggest number of police casualties in recent history.
Those charged by the National Bureau of Investigation before the DOJ include 26 from the MILF, 12 from the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Forces, and 52 who were either members of private armed groups (PAGs) or the Office of the Mayor of Mamasapano, or with no affiliation.
Of the implicated MILF members, 13 are supposedly battalion or field commanders, while among the charged BIFF members, 6 are supposedly commanders. The charged MILF members reportedly belong to the 105th and 118th Base Commands.
The charges only covered the killing of 35 members of the 55th Special Action Company. The investigators clarified that the complaints do not cover the death of the 9 SAF commandos of the 84th Seaborne Company, who killed Marwan in his hut in Barangay Pidsandawan in Mamasapano.
The NBI said the charge lodged against them was "complex" crime of direct assault with murder because there was treachery involved and abuse of superior strength, as shown by the suspects' shooting at close range even if the victims were already injured, dying or no longer had any means to defend themselves.
All the witnesses have been placed under the Witness Protection Program.
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