Lawmakers who are former police and military men are pressing on the House leadership to resume the joint investigation by two House committees on the tragic death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos last Jan 25.
Magdalo party-list Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo, who belongs to the “Saturday Bloc” of the House of Representatives, led the filing of House Resolution No. 1961 to call for the resumption of the chamber’s Mamasapano probe, which had been indefinitely suspended pending the results of the investigation conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Board of Inquiry (BOI).
“These members of the House are of the belief that the continuance of the joint hearings on the Mamasapano massacre… must proceed as it is in aid of legislation – in order to cover ground that the Senate was not able to cover, as well as to inform and educate the members of the House on their deliberations on the BBL on issues which came to the fore only in the aftermath of the Jan. 25, 2015, debacle in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” the group said in filing the two-page resolution.
Last Feb. 11, the House Committee on Public Order and Safety conducted a probe on the Jan. 25 carnage jointly with the House Committee on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, but decided to suspend the investigation pending results of the inquiry being conducted by BOI. The PNP board is due to submit its report to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas today for President Aquino’s review.
The group cited the need to continue the House investigation to review the operational aspects of the Government of the Philippines (GPH)-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ceasefire agreement, the current operational and coordinative framework between the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and other security bureaus.
The House resolution said resumption of the House probe will “help in the deliberations of the ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, allow it to pursue its oversight functions over several aspects of the GPH-MILF peace process as well as the operations of the PNP/AFP/other security bureaus, and support the pursuit of justice in behalf of the victims of the carnage in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.”
Joining Acedillo in filing the resolution were Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Samuel Pagdilao Jr., Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, and Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop.
The House independent bloc led by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and 33 other lawmakers, led by the Makabayan bloc, called on Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. to reopen the Mamasapano probe.
Belmonte said the House is ready to resume the probe once it receives the BOI report. He said “there are still unanswered questions” on the bloody raid.
“Once the BOI report is in and their vital questions unanswered, we could reopen. Multiplicity of investigations not desirable,” he said.
The speaker had earlier manifested that if they are satisfied with the BOI report, they are not likely to resume the House Mamasapano hearings.
No comments:
Post a Comment