Senate panels approve creation of Truth Commission on Mamasapano

After only one hearing, the proposal to create a Truth Commission that will investigate the Mamasapano clash was approved at the committee level on Wednesday.

 

Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Committee on Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, said the panel would submit the committee report to the plenary in two weeks.

Other committees involved in the hearing were the committees on public order and dangerous drugs, and finance.

 

“For plenary na. Approved na sa committee level, no more follow up hearing. We have to make the report muna and then we will put in the changes and then we will file it sa plenary," Guindona said after the hearing.

As soon as possible by next week or next, next week we should be able to submit it,” he told reporters.

 

Guingona admitted that several changes would be made in the bill including the inputs given by the resource persons during the hearing.

 

“Dahil sa mga inputs today, kaya maganda may hearing, magkakaroon ng bagong ideas at magbabago ngayon (ang bill),” he said.

Reconcile findings
 

Guingona said the Truth Commission would not only probe the incident but also reconcile the outputs of other bodies which conducted investigation on the matter.

Aside from the investigations of the Senate and the House, there were also probes conducted by the Phlippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation and even the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

 

“Andaming mga nag-iimbestiga ngayon at I’m sure maraming findings sa kanila and I’m sure hindi lahat magkatugma so dapat may isang reconciling body na magtutugma tugma ng lahat,” he said.

The senator said the commission would also look into the deaths of the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and civilians in the area.

 

Guingona said the proposed commission would also get the reports of the other bodies.

 

“Marami nang bodies are already more than halfway with their findings and therefore they will come out with a report and when they come out with a report, that will all be gathered by the truth commission with the end view of justice for everyone and then after that magkaroon ng reconciliation and then after that magkaroon ng true and lasting peace,” he said.

Need for speed
 

Guingona said the committee would also include a timetable for the commission.

 

“The other thing that we also took up is the need for speed. What was taken up there was that previous truth commissions took a lot of time and maybe we should put a deadline on it but a realistic deadline," Guingona said.

"Somebody said two months pero hindi naman realistic yun so we  will really have to think of reasonable period of time so that we can put a closure to this matter,” he said.

 

Guingona added the Truth Commission would likely result in the creation of a reconciling body that would look into the historical perspective on the roots of injustices “with the end in view of reconciling so that magkaroon ng pagbubukas loob para magkasunduan ang lahat dito tungkol sa Mindanao.”

 

“Recommending the filing of charges is just one part of the findings of the truth commission. The other would be yung mga pagbuo ng bodies that will promote reconciliation, bodies that would look into reconciliation and historical injustices in the past," Guingona said.

So those things are important, those things take time but those can be part of the recommendation of the truth commission,” he said.

 

Still no word on who will appoint members

 

Asked on who would appoint the members of the commission, Guingona said the panel would still have to study the matter.

 

“The result (of the Truth Commission)  will be out to the people. As to the appointment, we still have to look at it on who will appoint. Personally, I still believe it should be the President but there has also been a recommendation that it should be made by other groups,” Guingona said.

 

He added they will also take into account that the composition of the commission should include not only lawyers but also sociologist, retired police officer, among others. —NB, GMA News