Relatives and supporters of the SAF 44, members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) who were killed during the Mamasapano clash, march along EDSA on Sunday. The march turned out to be a solemn memorial honoring the troopers who died on January 25. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Reversing her earlier decision, Senator Grace Poe on Wednesday said that her committee report on the deadly Mamasapano incident will now be tackled in the plenary.
“Magkakaroon ng plenary na ukol dito sapagkat si Senator Alan Cayetano ay nagsulat upang pabuksan ang hearing sa Mamasapano. I-e-schedule na nila kung kailan,” Poe told reporters.
Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs that led the inquiry on the Mamasapano incident, said the tragedy that befell 44 elite members of the PNP Special Action Force and the substitute bill for the Bangsamoro Basic Law can be discussed side by side.
“Para mas klaro,” she said.
Just last month, Poe said she will no longer present before the plenary the committee report which held President Benigno Aquino III responsible for the incident for giving assent to, and for failing to prevent the unlawful exercise of official functions by then-suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima in connection with the Mamasapano anti-terror police operation.
Purisima has since been ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman over an anomalous contract with a service courier in 2011.
In saying that she will no longer present the report at the plenary, Poe said in June that the “report is about facts and findings. The Office of the Ombudsman acknowledged receipt of our recommendations. I will no longer present in plenary.”
She also said that the remaining questions on the bloody operation which led to the deaths of 44 police Special Action (SAF) troopers, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, and five civilians could be entertained during the plenary discussion on the BBL.
To date, no formal charges have been filed against those deemed responsible for the deaths arising from the January 25 incident. (MNS)