Grace Poe: Senate panel report on Mamasapano clash won’t be tackled in plenary

The committee report on the Mamasapano tragedy that left 44 police commandos dead last Jan. 25 will not be tackled in the plenary, Senator Grace Poe said on Wednesday.

In a text message to dzBB's Nimfa Ravelo, the senator said "[The] report is about facts and findings. The Office of the Ombudsman acknowledged receipt of our recommendations. I will no longer present in plenary."

Also, she said the remaining questions on the bloodbath will be entertained during the plenary discussion on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Poe chairs the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs that led the chamber's inquiry into the "misencounter" in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao that left 44 police Special Action (SAF) troopers, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, and five civilians dead.

Earlier, Poe said the committee report included stories from survivors, possible foreign involvement, and recommendations to prevent a repeat of the incident that stemmed from a police operation against high-profile terrorist personalities in Maguindanao.

Some of the findings indicated in the Executive Summary of the committee report are: