VACC asks Ombudsman to reopen Mamasapano case vs Aquino, others

MANILA, Philippines — The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, or VACC, wants the Office of the Ombudsman to reopen the case against former President Benigno Aquino III and others over the bloody Mamasapano clash in 2015.

In a motion filed Friday, the VACC asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reopen the case, saying they have new evidence supporting the filing of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide case against Aquino.

Aside from Aquino, other respondents named in VACC’s motion were former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and former Special Action Forces chief Getulio Napeñas.

In what was the biggest crisis of Aquino’s presidency, a predawn mission to arrest two al Qaeda-linked militants triggered a bloody encounter between police Special Action Force commandos and gunmen in Mamasapano that led to the death of 44 cops, 18 Moro fighters and several civilians.

In November 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman officially filed graft and usurpation of authority charges against Aquino.

The ombudsman earlier dismissed the reckless imprudence complaint that VACC previously filed. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral