15 senators sign Mamasapano report

Fifteen senators have signed the Senate draft committee report that has found President Benigno Aquino III “ultimately responsible” for the botched operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that led to the deaths of 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF).

Those who signed were Senators Grace Poe Llamanzares, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Vicente Sotto III, Sergio Osmeña III, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano, Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay, Ralph Recto, Pia Cayetano, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Gregorio Honasan II, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito.

Senators Loren Legarda and Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV are also set to sign the report, according to their staff.

Three Senate committees – on Public Order, Finance and Peace, and Unification and Reconciliation – conducted five public hearings and

executive sessions on the Mamasapano incident.

Poe, who heads the Senate Committee on Public Order released the draft committee report to the public on Tuesday, March 17, before routing the document for signature.

At least 13 signatures are needed before a committee report is reported out in the Senate plenary session.

According to Poe, she will still wait for other senators to submit additional attachments to the report and will present the entire findings in May.

Poe said the Senate committees are recommending that murder, frustrated murder, and robbery charges be filed against the members of the MILF and BIFF who killed the SAF troopers and wounded their other comrades during the Mamasapano incident.

Up to now, Poe pointed out, the MILF has yet to turn over to authorities the weapons, equipment, uniforms, and personal effects of the killed SAF troopers -- which amounts to robbery.

Poe said they consider the Ma- masapano incident a “massacre” and not merely a “misencounter.”

Because of the gruesome killing of the SAF troopers and other combat personnel during the mission, the Senate report said it believes the MILF leadership does not have absolute control over its ground troops.

“This raises doubts as to the sincerity of the MILF as our ‘partner’ in the peace process and it has implications upon the safety of government troops who must conduct law enforcement operations within MILF-controlled territory,” the Senate report stated.

‘Excess of optimism’

Because of this, the Senate committees said they were questioning the acts of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles and government peace panel negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer in defending the MILF.

The Senate report said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the rest of the government’s peace panel are suffering from a “wanton excess of optimism” for the MILF which proved to be insincere in its peace talks with the government.

“In the process of achieving peace in Mindanao, we should not overlook the seeming inadequacies of our partner in this process, the MILF, such as their lack of control over their ground forces and their disrespect for legitimate government operations,” the Senate report stated.

“The OPAPP, and the peace panel, while advocating peace on a high ground as it should, are suffering from a wanton excess of optimism – optimisim that blinded them to negotiate a fair agreement for the government,”

“The BBL (Bangsamoro basic law), is an exemplar in this regard. While founded on a noble vision of harmony for Mindanao, indications show that there are major problem areas, including… the largesse found in its high cost of appropriations and allegedly allowing the creation of a sub-state,” the Senate report stated.

Peace with justice

While the Senate report recognized and commended President Benigno Aquino III’s efforts to pursue peace in Mindanao which is part of his 16-point social contract with the Filipino people, Poe said it is imperative that the government pursue peace “based on justice.”

“The OPAPP was at the helm of executing this policy. However, it is impossible to have peace without justice. Should the government continue to deal with the MILF which refused to submit the findings of its internal investigations into the incident or disclose the identities of those involved in the massacre? The peace that we must seek must be based on justice where the rule of law reigns supreme, and where criminals are prosecuted and punished accordingly,” she said in the 7-page executive summary of the 120-page Mamasapano report.

During the Senate’s public hearings, Deles and Ferrer were criticized by senators for seemingly defending the MILF instead of calling its attention to the excesses and violations they committed despite an existing comprehensive peace agreement.

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Escudero were vocal in calling for their removal from the peace negotiating panel.

“The OPAPP and the government should start speaking for the country and for the government,” the Senate report stated.

The OPAPP and the Department of Justice (DOJ) should pursue the prosecution of all guilty members of the MILF, not only of those who fell in the Mamasapano massacre but also against the 19 Marines who were killed in the 1999 Al-Barka incident, the report said. “Let not the OPAPP or the DOJ be remiss again this time in their sworn duty to protect the interest of our people in the quest for justice for all our fallen heroes.”

The peace that we seek must be based on justice, where the rule of law reigns supreme, and where criminals are brought before the bar of justice and punished. The blood and heroism of the fallen SAF 44 should not be dishonored by inaction. Our people will accept nothing less,” the report said.