SAF 44 kin rally outside Ombudsman on Mamasapano clash 2nd anniversary

Families of the 44 police commandos killed in the Mamasapano clash staged on Wednesday a protest action outside the Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City as they continued seeking justice for their slain relatives two years later.

 

The relatives of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) members were joined in the rally by groups like the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, and the Citizens Crime Watch.

 

The protesters marched to the Ombudsman's office carrying a cross bearing the name of the slain police commandos.

 

 

Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the Mamasapano clash, which left over 60 people dead.

 

In a press conference before the rally, Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to reopen the investigation on the Mamasapano clash with a fact-finding commission.

 

He, however, said the investigating team should be truly independent and capable of producing credible results.

 

"Ang bubuong committee po, dapat tunay na independiyente, ang mga bumubuo nito ay may kakayahan sumuri," Reyes said.

 

Reyes also supported Duterte's statement calling the Mamasapano clash a Central Intellgience Agency-directed operation.

 

"Nakakalungkot po na ang isang foreign government ay magagawang isubo sa kapahamakan ang mga Pilipino dahil lamang sa obsesyon nila ang isang di-umano'y terorista," he said.

 

'Throwing people a bone'

 

Meanwhile, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, legal counsel for the VACC, lambasted the decision of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to only file graft and usurpation of public functions charges against former PNP chief Alan Purisima and former PNP-SAF director Getulio Napeñas Jr. even if the VACC had earlier included them in the multiple homicide charges it filed against former President Benigno Aquino III.

 

"She [Ombudsman Morales] is throwing the people a bone para lang tumigil sa pagkahol," Topacio said.

 

"Pero hindi kami titigil sa pagkahol dahil walang kwenta po ['yung mga kasong] ito, walang laman," he added.

 

Topacio said that while the Ombudsman does not see Aquino guilty of graft and usurpation of public functions, the multiple homicide charge "is a totally different ball game."

 

"Bagama't mababa ang penalty diyan, kung 44 ay baka hindi na makalabas ng kulungan si Aquino in his lifetime," Topacio said.

 

"This is the acid test for Ombudsman Morales. Kanino siya papanig: Sa nag-appoint sa kanya o sa katotohanan?" the lawyer added.

 

VACC chair Dante Jimenez earlier said he was considering filing an impeachment complaint against Morales over the supposed slow progress of the Mamasapano case.

 

A total of 67 people, including the 44 police commandos, died in the Mamasapano clash.

 

The SAF members were conducting the covert PNP-SAF operation Oplan Exodus aimed at neutralizing high-profile Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Bassit Usman when they were killed.

 

The SAF team killed Marwan but encountered armed groups, including members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, just as they were pulling out of the area.