Rifles taken by Army ended up with MILF
Fact 1: Army rescuers had retrieved the rifles of the fallen police commandos at the Jan. 25 Mamasapano massacre site. ( Source: PNP- Board of Inquiry, page 41, http://www.gov.ph/2015/03/13/ boi-mamasapano-report-march-2015)
Question: How did the same weapons end up weeks later being “returned” by the massacring Moro separatists?
Fact 2: One wounded commando was videoed being disarmed and executed by looters, whom the Moro Islamic Liberation Front hotly disowns. (PNPBOI, p. 86)
Question: If the executioners weren’t MILF, then how come the murdered cop’s rifle also ended up being returned by it?
Those are but two of many puzzles that Rep. Celso Lobregat (Zamboanga City) wants solved. So he is begging the House of Reps to extend a little more its probe of the wipeout of 44 Special Action Forces. Answers would settle lingering doubts about the clash, and guide Congress on granting the separatists a sub-state.
The House will hold one last hearing tomorrow, but behind closed doors. The executive session, which only congressmen may join, is for the MILF chief negotiator to justify his alias Mohagher Iqbal, if he attends at all. Lobregat says the questions he raises must be heard publicly, since the source PNP-BOI report is on the government website anyway.
* * * Page 41 of that report details: “After the inventory and accounting, several issues began to surface. Interviews with members of Seaborne (84th Special Action Company) revealed missing and/or stolen parts of rifles. PO2 Rommel Magno said that he had his rifle (a Ferfrans special operations assault rifle, with Eotech and a PEQ2) with him all throughout the operation up until they were rescued by the 4th SAB (Special Action Battalion of SAF) and DRC ( Division Reconnaissance Company, Army). This was similar to the case of (slain PO3 Rodrigo) Acob’s rifle, which was also handed to one of the members of the DRC. Since Magno was seriously injured, he handed his rifle, as well as the rifles of the dead Seaborne Commandos to a member of the DRC. When Magno’s rifle was returned, its GL M203 grenade launcher was missing. Surprisingly, Magno’s rifle was among the firearms turned over by the MILF-CCCH (Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities) to the GPH-CCCH. This meant that the firearms got into the hands of the Moro rebels when it should have been under the protection of the AFP troops.”
The PNP-BOI report was by police generals and key officers. They could not explain gaps of the Army, which had declined invitations to the inquiry. If unresolved, the details will foment distrust between the police and military.
That rift showed not only between the PNP and Army officers at the Congress hearings. Congressmen too seemed to take sides, like ex-PNPs Samuel Pagdilao, Leopoldo Bataoil, and Romeo Acop, and ex-military Ashley Acedillo, Gary Alejano, and Rodolfo Biazon. Yet they will strive to patch the rift in their own report. This all the more necessitates the answering of the questions.
* * * Page 86 is as detailed: “There are indications from the records that the counter forces against SAF in the Mamasapano Incident were from the MILF.
“Mayor Benzar Ampatuan, Barangay Captain Esmael Asim and his Kagawad stated that the municipality of Mamasapano is composed of 70-80% members of MILF.
“The AFP also confirmed that the cornfield where the 55th SAC members were surrounded and engaged is within the area of MILF’s 105th Base Command (BC) led by Zacaria Goma.
“A video showing Sagonoy’s death was taken and uploaded on the Internet. The video showed an unidentified individual shooting/firing at (PO1 Joseph) Sagonoy while he was still alive. Notably Sagonoy’s firearm, a Ferfrans SOAR caliber 5.56 rifle with serial number FF01051, was subsequently surrendered by the MILF to the PNP through GPH CCCH and MILF CCCH. This might indicate that the individuals responsible for Sagonoy’s death, as shown in the video, are members of the MILF.”
A separate MILF inquiry claimed that the executioners were not its men. It justified the killings as self-defense against the commandos who had trespassed its base, and the looting as “war booty.”
The PNP-BOI report states otherwise. So to which would Congress give credence: the PNP or the MILF?
* * * Save the date: 30 Apr. Thursday. “Sabel, Love and Passion,” a new musical theater production. Music and musical direction by Louie Ocampo. Direction, book and lyrics by Freddie Santos. Gala premiere at The Theater, Solaire, by the Manila Bay. Starring Iza Calzado and the Philippine Ballet Theater, with special participation of Audie Gemora.Inspired by the beloved subject of National Artist Benedicto Cabrera, “Sabel, Love and Passion” essays the story of a dynamic young woman who loved, above all, to dance. From the depths of her depression to the glory of her personal triumph, it was dance that helped hold her life together and ultimately regain her soul.
The musical is a highlight of “BenCab: 50 Creative Years,” a yearlong celebration of BenCab’s artistic milestone.
No less than the PNP inquiry shows this, so Congressman Lobregat is asking for one last public hearing.