Alternative report to Mamasapano incident draws warning from Recto

Administration ally Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto yesterday warned those peddling a different version of the bloody January 25 Mamasapano incident better come up with accurate and solid proof or be prepared to face slander charges.

Without proof, Recto cautioned those who are spouting off a new and different version from what has actually been found during the Senate and House inquiry into the massacre may be guilty of “assassinating” the memory of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers who were massacred in the incident.

“If unsupported by facts, the claim is slanderous. It has the effect of devaluing the heroism of the SAF 44. Those who are peddling a revisionist take on what happened in Mamasapano should come up with solid proof,” Recto said in a statement.

President Aquino who, in a recent forum, disclosed of “an alternative version of what transpired” in Mamasapano rejected giving additional information.

But a recent newspaper report (not in the Manila Bulletin) suggests Marwan was already killed when SAF combatants arrived.

“If what they are alleging will be later proven false, the damage to their reputation will be irreparable. The people will find them guilty of this crime: character assassination of the dead. Dead heroes tell no tales but they leave behind traces of the truth,” the senator said.

Earlier, Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares, chair of the Senate committee on public order that conducted the investigation into the gruesome incident, expressed openness to reopen the Mamasapano probe.

It was Poe’s committee that found President Aquino liable for the death of the SAF 44 when he bypassed the chain of command of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for choosing to tap then suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima in carrying out the covert operation against two suspected terrorists.