House probe today to focus on delayed AFP artillery fire
Today’s closed-door House hearing on the Mamasapano incident would focus on the military’s delayed artillery fire support for police commandos who died in the carnage, a former police officer turned congressman said yesterday.
In a television interview, Rep. Samuel Pagdilao of party-list group AntiCrime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support said he and several colleagues would ask officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) about their response to the embattled policemen’s request for artillery fire cover.
“We would like to seek clear answers on this, not to pin blame on anyone but to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future,” he said.
He said the Jan. 25 operation of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force in Mamasapano “was a success, though it came at a very high cost on the part of SAF.”
“It was a success because they got their principal target, suspected Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan,” he added.
SAF commandos killed Marwan but lost 44 of their own in ensuing clashes with guerrillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its breakaway faction Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Eighteen MILF combatants and five civilians also died in the fighting.
Two other SAF targets – Amin Baco, another suspected Malaysian terrorist, and Marwan’s Filipino associate Abdul Basit Usman – escaped.
Aside from taking down Marwan, Pagdilao said SAF succeeded in “inserting” its commandos in MILF and BIFF communities without being detected.
Had they been monitored, Marwan’s many informants among the population would have forewarned him of the presence of SAF troopers and the suspected terrorist would have escaped, he said.
He said it was the “extrication” part of the SAF operation that became problematic.
He added that SAF officers requested Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan at about 8 a.m. on Jan. 25 for artillery fire support, but the latter allowed the firing of blank artillery rounds only at 6 p.m.
He pointed out that Col. Gener del Rosario, one of Pangilinan’s ground commanders, recommended artillery fire cover before 11 a.m.
Aside from Pagdilao, another police officer turned congressman, Romeo Acop of Antipolo City, and Pangasinan Rep. Rosemarie Arenas are interested in finding out why it took Pangilinan at least 10 hours to respond to SAF’s frantic and repeated requests for artillery fire.
Pangilinan, former co-chairman of the joint government-MILF ceasefire committee, has denied that he disallowed the requested support due to the peace process with the MILF.
He said he needed accurate information on the location of the embattled SAF troopers, enemy forces and civilian population, and that such information was not available in the morning.
SAF officers said they provided the military with the grid coordinates of their men at 8 a.m. when they sought artillery fire support.
During last week’s two-day hearings, Acop accused Pangilinan of being less than candid about the real reason why he withheld artillery fire.
As for Arenas, she said SAF widows and other relatives asked her to inquire why it took so long for the military to help the beleaguered SAF troopers.
She said there would be no closure to the Mamasapano incident unless this issue was sufficiently explained to the satisfaction of the families of the fallen SAF 44.
Charges against MILF rebels
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said yesterday he expects the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file murder charges against several fighters of the MILF as well as the gunmen from other groups allegedly responsible for killing the 44 policemen in Mamasapano.
He said the DOJ must be resolute in filing the murder charges in order “to serve the ends of justice,” adding he was hoping Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will make good her word that her agency will start prosecuting suspects by April 16.
“I am waiting for the DOJ to file criminal cases. There are two possible cases to be file. Number one is murder under the Revised Penal Code and crimes against international humanitarian law under Republic Act 9851,” Rodriguez told reporters.
De Lima last week told a hearing of the House of Representatives on the Mamasapano incident that the National Bureau of Investigation-National Prosecution Service report would be completed by April 16.
Rodriguez said the findings of the Senate probe and the investigation of the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry stated that MILF fighters, along with gunmen from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups, surrounded members of the PNPSAF and engaged them in a firefight.
Despite knowing that they were PNP-SAF personnel, the attackers continued to fire on them, with five of the policemen executed, he said.
He said the DOJ’s action on the case was crucial and will determine how fast or slow the deliberations on the BBL will be in the House.
“There will be no justice if there will be no filing of cases. That has to be done so that we can refocus now on BBL,” Rodriguez said.
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