Zambo siege: Dropping of case vs 60 questioned

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The city government will challenge the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop the charges against 60 persons in connection with the bloody siege last year.

The office of Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar received a copy of the 63-page DOJ resolution on Monday, city legal officer Jesus Carbon said yesterday.

The DOJ recommended the dropping of charges for rebellion, genocide and other offenses against the 60 from a list of 200 suspects in response to the order of a Pasig court, which cited lack of evidence.

 Carbon said the DOJ panel of prosecutors could have overlooked the evidence against the suspects. 

“The act of one is the act of all. The conspiracy role takes place even if he has not fired a gun,” he said.

He also noted that the 23 MNLF members who surrendered at the height of the hostilities were not among those dropped from the list of the accused. 

In an interview over RMN  here, Carbon said they would not wait for 15 days to file the motion for reconsideration. 

More than 200 people were killed, 120,000 civilians displaced and 10,000 houses razed in the siege staged by  supporters of MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari.