PNP dares MILF to file charges in court vs. 55th SAF's lone survivor

The Philippine National Police on Wednesday dared the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to file criminal charges against PO2 Christopher Lalan for allegedly killing four MILF members while they were sleeping in a makeshift mosque a day after the Mamasapano encounter on Jan. 25.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. said that if the MILF believed Lalan committed criminal acts, it would be better for the group to file an appropriate complaint in the courts.

“Kung may nakikita sila na may criminal liabilities siya (Lalan) file it in proper court. And I believe na itong si Lalan ay kayang sagutin ito  (possible complaint),” Cerbo said in a news conference on Wednesday.
 
Cerbo said that the PNP could  provide legal assistance to Lalan should a there be a complaint filed against him. He, however, was quick to clarify that as of the moment, there was no such request for legal assistance from Lalan.
 
“Ang pinaka magiging matibay na backing talaga kung sakaling makakasuhan siya ay yung testimonya niya. But on the part of the PNP, we will ensure na si Lalan, under the law, ay mabibigyan ng due process upang marepresent ang sarili niya ng maayos in proper court,” Cerbo said.

Cerbo said the PNP believed Lalan's testimony more than it did the MILF's findings as regards the Mamapano incident. 
 
He made the remark after the MILF-Special Investigative Commission alleged in its report that Lalan violated international humanitarian laws for the alleged intentional killing of four MILF members and one civilian.
 
Lalan was the lone survivor among the members of the 55th Special Action Company that found itself in a firefight with the MILF on the morning of Jan. 25. 

The 55th SAC was supposed to act as a blocking force for the 84th Seaborne, which successfully neutralized suspected terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan in alleged MILF territory in Mamasapano, Maguindanao before dawn that Sunday.

The MILF investigative panel said it found that Lalan killed four MILF members while they were sleeping inside a makeshift mosque in Barangay Tukanalipao a day after the Mamasapano encounter in Mamasapano town.
 
The MILF further alleged that Lalan also killed a civilian who has shouted that he was unarmed and “put up his hands in the air to show such fact”.
 
Cerbo said that while the MILF may have other sources in the area for such allegations, the PNP BOI gave weight to the testimony of Lalan that he just acted in self-defense.
 
"Base sa kanyang salaysay na nasa BOI report, Lalan was in survival mode, talagang ginawa niya ang lahat to extricate himself in the area. Inamin naman niya na in act of self-defense ay meron siyang mga napatay. Bigyan naman natin ng punto dito ang salaysay ng nakaligtas,” Cerbo said.
 
“You have to take the statement of Lalan kasi siya ang nandun, siya yung nabuhay,” Cerbo added.
 
Lalan, in an earlier television interview, denied the allegations saying that people inside the hut, which was later found out to be a mosque, were firing at him.
 
Thirty-five of Lalan’s comrades in the 55^th SAC died in the encounter with the MILF in an open cornfield.
 
Cerbo said the PNP respected the findings of the MILF panel but added the PNP had its own facts about the bloody Mamasapano incident as established by its own Board of Inquiry (BOI), which conducted its own investigation on the matter.
 
“Nirerespeto naman natin yung findings ng MILF, kukunin nalang natin ito as it is, but without saying na tinatanggap namin ito as truth,” Cerbo said. —NB, GMA News