Witness to Mamasapano clash now with NBI –De Lima

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) now has a witness under its custody who claimed to have personally seen how some of the police Special Action Force (SAF) commandos were killed during the January 25 Mamasapano encounter.

In a live phone-patch interview with GMA News TV's “News To Go,” De Lima said the witness was with the DOJ investigating team during the ocular inspection of the encounter site in Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, earlier in the day.

“Meron kaming isang witness na base sa kwento niya, marami siyang na-witness during the actual encounter and killing of the SAF 44,” De Lima said.

She said they brought the witness with them at the encounter site to check his statements regarding what he saw on January 25.

“Isa yun sa mga pinaka-importanteng pakay namin for the ocular, to test and to further validate the credibility of our witness and his narration,” De Lima said.

De Lima said that based on their initial assessment of the encounter site, there might be some truth to what their witness was saying.

“Sa tingin ko, mula sa vantage point ng pagkakakita niya ay mukhang possible nga ang kanyang narration,” she said.

De Lima, however, did not give any information as to what the witness had seen during the encounter.

She maintained that the DOJ will enforce the law against anyone who will be found criminally liable behind the bloody incident, even if it may include members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) with whom the government has an existing peace agreement.

“Kami, paulit-ulit naming sinabi na bilang the prosecutorial arm of the government, talagang ang susundin namin na proseso ay yung nasa batas natin, the rules of court,” De Lima said.

Murad

MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim did not categorically answer querries on whether the MILF members who might be found involved in the Mamasapano incident will be surrendered to the government.

He, however, stated that based on their ceasefire agreement with the government, it must be the MILF who must impose punishment to their erring members.

“We have common objective, to know the truth and to have justice sa nangyari. So, yan ay common. But then, we are governed by different mechanism,” Murad said in a separate interview on “News To Go.”

But De Lima said the government and the MILF can still “reconcile” when it comes to the imposition of penalties to those who may be found liable behind the incident.

“We can reconcile. I think there is a way of marrying both positions, but I'm adding to that without prejudice also to the application of the penal processes and penal system,” she said.

She added that the findings of different bodies investigating the Mamasapano incident would be crucial in the enforcement of the law, particularly to the MILF members who might be found liable.

“Tignan muna natin yung mga magiging findings nga mga investigating bodies. Magiging pare-pareho ba yan? Wala bang magkakaroon ng serious inconsistencies na kailangang ireconcile? Credible ba yung mga investigation? Kasi kung makita naman nila (MILF) na maayos yung resulta ng mga investigations, siguro naman sa dulo nito, hindi nila pwedeng maging stand na, 'Ay hindi namin issuko ang mga ito (MILF members)',” De Lima said.

Aside from the DOJ-NBI, also conducting investigation on the Mamasapano incident are the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry, Commission on Human Rights, Office of the Ombudsman, Senate and the House of Representatives. —Elizabeth Marcelo/KBK, GMA News