Miriam calls Senate inquiry on Mamasapano an ‘orgy of lies’

The Senate inquiry into the Mamasapano incident was attended by witnesses who didn't tell the whole truth because the media was covering the proceedings, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said on Tuesday.

“Sa Mamasapano hearing, sari-saring sinungaling. Gusto pa akong i-impress. Kino-kontrol ko lang ang sarili ko pero sa isip ko: G...!” she said during her speech at Maynilad event held at tUhe niversity of the Philippines in Diliman.

Santiago attended the hearing only once. The Senate committees held five public hearings and five executive sessions on the Mamasapano incident.

 

The senator, however, refused to identify who she was referring to.

 

“I do not have to identify personally but it was an orgy of truth  twisting,” Santiago said in a news conference following her speech.

 

“You cannot expect the full truth in an event very heavily covered by the media. The media has an effect, as they say in philosophy, the presence of the observer changes the observed. Iba talaga ang kilos ng tao basta nasa harap sila ng media kumpara sa kung sila lang,” she added.

 

“Many were not telling the whole truth, that is no longer the truth. Remember the oath is to tell the truth, the whole truth. They were telling the truth but from their point of view so truth had many versions during that hearing,” Santiago said.
 

Asked what she thought of the report released by the joint committees that conducted the probe, the senator said she didn't totally agrees with it. 

“I signed it only to show that I joined general sentiment. It does not mean that I agree with every one of the findings. It simply shows that I wanted to express the sense of the Senate as a collective (entity),” she said.