BACOLOD CITY , Philippines— Representative Jeffrey Ferrer (4th district, Negros Occidental), chairman of the House committee on public order and safety, said the hearing on the Mamapasano incident will resume next month.
Ferrer, a member of the United Negros Alliance, an ally of the Liberal Party, said his panel will continue to “determine if there is a violation on the part of President Benigno Aquino III” over the Mamasapano encounter that resulted in the deaths of 44 commandos of the police’s Special Action Force.
The previous hearings that Ferrer presided were suspended pending the result of the investigation of the PNP Board of Inquiry on the controversial incident.
The 85 members of the House joint committees had already received copies of the BOI report for “review and study,” he said, and that his committee will eventually come up with its own report and recommendation after the hearings in April.
Asked if it would be possible for his panel to make Aquino liable to the Mamasapano snafu, Ferrer remarked: “If you give the go signal, then you’re responsible.”
He added: “If you’re a mayor or a governor, once you signed a program or project, you will be responsible (for it).” (FREEMAN)