Don’t politicize Mamasapano incident – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday appealed to various sectors not to use the Mamasapano incident to push their political agenda.

The Palace made the call after Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, a member of the political opposition, asked to revive in the plenary discussions about the committee report on Mamasapano where scores of policemen died last January in a counterterrorist operation.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. earlier said the Palace would respect the decision of the senators, but deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that in any case, “we can see that there are those who will use (the issue) to push for their political agenda. But hopefully they won’t.”

“Let’s not add to the burden of the families by continuing to use their loved ones for political agenda,” Valte added.

Valte also said it would be the “lookout” of those who would dwell on the Mamasapano incident this election season vis-à-vis its possible implications.

On Jan. 25, the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police clashed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and private armed groups while carrying out a police operation to serve arrest warrants on international terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Abdul Basit Usman. Forty-four SAF members died in the clash.

Ninety people from the MILF, BIFF and private armed groups have been charged in connection with the killings on evidence and accounts of witnesses.

The operation reportedly had the go signal of President Aquino. The Senate report found Aquino ultimately responsible for the incident, but the President said he was not given the chance to answer the allegations against him before it was released.

Regarding the government fact-finding team’s failure to come up with a criminal complaint against the suspected killers of nine other members of the SAF involved in the Mamasapano operation due to lack of witnesses, Valte said the President’s instructions had always been to file a case if there was sufficient evidence.

Valte also said such development did not close any opportunity to press charges in the future once the government had come up with evidence.

“I don’t think they consider the case closed in the sense that there is always a possibility of new evidence or new respondents coming up. But that being said, we need to let the process grind with regard to the others who have already been identified and (charged) based on evidence,” she added.

Coloma earlier urged individuals who might have knowledge about the deaths of the nine other SAF commandos to come forward with information that might help in the government’s pursuit of justice.