MILF lauds gov't rights lawyer for Sulu probe

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Sunday lauded a government lawyer Sunday for "great impartiality" in investigating the killing of eight people in Sulu on February 4. Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF secretariat, described lawyer Jose Manuel Mamauag, director of the Commission on Human Rights in Western Mindanao as a "conscience-guided" man. "Only men of conscience and commitment to the rule of law could decide on the side of truth and justice, especially if the victims were only lowly seaweed workers," Ameen said in a statement. He said government troops continue to have poor records in human rights protection in Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi. Mamauag earlier recommended that charges be filed against the officers and men of the Philippine Navy Special Warfare Group and the Army's special Light Reaction Company in Sulu. Members of these units were linked to the planning, operation, intelligence gathering, command and control of the incident that led to the killing of eight residents of Ipil village. The Commission on Human Rights released a detailed report on how the troops attacked the village. Mamauag, in his report, noted that the incident happened on the anniversary of the Armed Forces' directive on "strict adherence to the doctrine of command responsibility." Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael, chief of the Joint Task Force Comet, said they are still awaiting the result of the Armed Forces Inspector General's investigation. "We have to follow the military justice system," Rafael said, adding that they respect the CHR's findings. "The February 4, 2008, Barangay Ipil incident is a clear case of grave breaches of human rights of the victims – a violation of human rights," Mamauag said in his report. The report called on government agencies and local government units to extend all possible assistance to the community, including compensation, rehabilitation, psychological and traumatic therapy, stress-debriefing and counseling. The report said the death of two soldiers could be the result of self-defense by vacationing Army Cpl. Ibnon Wahib. "By self-preservation, it was the strategy of the victim (Wahib) because in the first burst of fire he might not have recognized the marauders, until such time that he came to know that they were government troops, (which explains) why he was shouting 'Papa Alpha!'(Philippine Army)," Mamauag said. Wahid's wife testified that his husband was hogtied although he had introduced himself as an Army soldier and was shot from behind while kneeling. - GMANews.TV