Caskets of the SAF44 arrive at Villamor Airbase in this Jan. 29, 2015 file photo from the Official Gazette.
Saying any new Mamasapano theory that "assassinates" the memory of the SAF 44 should be backed by solid evidence, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto Sunday sought the disclosure of at least seven items of documentation that could once and for all tell the full story of what happened on Jan. 25, 2015.
"If unsupported by facts, the claim is slanderous. It has the effect of devaluing the heroism of the SAF 44," Recto said in a statement, referring to a claim by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that Malaysian terrorist Marwan was killed by an aide even before the police commandos arrived, and, according to an Inquirer source, the SAF raid was just "drama."
Recto said, "those who are peddling a revisionist take on what happened in Mamasapano should come up with solid proof."
If these allegations - reported by the Inquirer days after President Aquino told the newspaper's editors at a roundtable there was an emerging "alternative truth" in Mamasapano are later proven false, the damage to the SAF44's reputation "will be irreparable," Recto said. Those making the claim, he added, will be guilty of "character assassination of the dead."
To settle the matter once and for all, said Recto, the following should be declassified and disclosed to the public now:
1. Video of the operations. If there is a GoPro footage of the SAF who killed Marwan, it should come out now.
2. All communication logs including audio recording between SAF and forward bases.
3. Was the operation monitored in real-time by a satellite or drone circling above? If there is, the footage and any recording of this should be released.
4. Terminal ballistics report, to determine the type of weapons used.
5. AFP report on the death of Abdul Basit Usman, the Filipino bomb maker trained by Marwan, who was staying in a nearby hut.
6. Medico-legal and autopsy report on Marwan, to determine cause of death, including proximity of weapon discharge and point of entry and exit of bullets.
7. Report on post-incident investigation of the PNP-SOCO, if there’s any.
Those making the claim that something else happened, different from what has so far been revealed in several reports - by a Senate tri-committee inquiry, by the special fact-finding panel of then-CIDG Director Benjamin Magalong, and by a Justice department team - should come up with solid evidence and not resort to leaks, said Recto.
"The people may not be forgiving of those who vilify the valor of those who gave up their lives for the country. Wala na ngang posthumous honor, bibigyan pa ng posthumous insult [It's bad enough the SAF 44 didn't get posthumous honor; it's worse that what they're getting is a posthumous insult]."
The police Special Action Force mission, billed "Oplan Exodus," deployed 300 members of the force past midnight of Jan. 25 to a marshy village within MILF territory in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, with orders to get Zulkipli bin Abhir (Marwan) and Usman, accused in Philippine courts of engineering several terrorist attacks over a 10-year period.
The SAF bagged Marwan, prompting the SAF's chief Getulio Napeñas to call the mission a success. However, the deaths of 44 SAF members caused an outcry amid reports the government did not move fast enough to extricate them from the "kill zone" after coming under fire, as they exited, from three sides: the MILF, which said it didn't know these were police commandos, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and various other private armed groups.
Usman escaped but was later killed by the MILF as he entered the Moro rebels' lair in another province.
The Mamasapano debacle - called a massacre by some quarters - plunged the Aquino presidency into its worst political crisis, and stalled deliberations on the Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress, where lawmakers demanded to know why the Malaysian terrorist got sanctuary in MILF territory.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/117486/dont-assassinate-memory-of-saf44-declassify-all-documents-on-mamasapano---recto-to-govt
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.