Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina airs his sentiments on the bloody Mamasapano clash before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law on Wednesday, February 4. Espina called on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters to surrender the firearms taken from the 44 fallen policemen. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Do not use lack of coordination as an excuse for the killing of the 44 police commandos.
This was the strong message of Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is blamed for the deaths of the elite PNP-SAF personnel in the encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25.
“Ipagpalagay na hindi nag-coordinate sa kanila, mga criminal naman yung tinutugis, bakit kailangan nilang paputukan ang mga pulis natin? Bakit kailangan nilang tumulong sa BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters)…Hanggang ngayon ‘yan ang katanungan ko,” Espina said before the members of the House ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and members of the media on Wednesday.
Espina appeared before the House committee to assure its members that his office will be submitting a report on the Mamasapano incident on February 9.
On Monday night, committee chairman, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, gave an ultimatum to the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the local government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) until February 9 to submit to the committee their respective reports on the Mamasapano incident.
Failure to do so, Rodriguez said, would prompt him to suspend deliberations on the BBL.
During his meeting with the committee members, Espina also called on the MILF combatants to surrender the firearms and other belongings of the fallen policemen.
“Pakiusap ko lang sa MILF, isauli ninyo ang mga gamit namin, ‘that’s ours. Pinatay niyo na ang mga tao namin, huwag niyo nang dagdagan,” Espina said.
The PNP OIC said he has been receiving unconfirmed reports that the MILF combatants are now trying to sell the firearms taken from the slain policemen for P1.5 million.
On January 25, policemen belonging to the PNP’s elite unit, Special Action Force (SAF) had a day-long firefight against members the MILF and BIFF in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao. The incident led to the deaths of 44 SAF members, while 12 others were left injured. The MILF announced that 17 of their fighters died in the clash.
The government had earlier called the incident a “misencounter” as the MILF and the BIFF were not the intended targets of the police force, but Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan and foreign-trained Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman who is believed to be a high-ranking leader of the Abu Sayyaf group.
The MILF, meanwhile said that they acted in self-defense as it was the SAF men who fired first at them. (MNS)