Various organizations trooped to Plaza Miranda in Manila, Friday, February 20, to hold a “People’s Hearing” after congressional hearings over the Mamasapano encounter were suddenly halted earlier this week.
“The indefinite suspension of the Congressional hearings on Mamasapano is to cover up the accountability of President Aquino and the US. Aquino rabidly implemented Operation Wolverine or Exodus on the whims and orders of US and that operation cost us the lives of at least 69 Filipinos,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Metro Manila Chairperson Raymond Palatino said.
The exact knowledge and participation of President Benigno Aquino III of Operation Wolverine or Exodus was yet to be determined by the Lower House of Congress when it decided to suspend its hearings. The Senate, meanwhile, held two public hearings on February 9 and 11 that ended with inquiries on the President and US’ hand in the operation. The Senate held an executive session on February 16 on the involvement of the government and armed forces of the United States of America (USA) and the president, but did not divulge to public any of its findings.
[quote_center]“The indefinite suspension of the Congressional hearings on Mamasapano is to cover up the accountability of President Aquino and the US. Aquino rabidly implemented Operation Wolverine or Exodus on the whims and orders of US and that operation cost us the lives of at least 69 Filipinos” – BAYAN Metro Manila Chairperson Raymond Palatino[/quote_center]
Operation Wolverine or Exodus was implemented by the Special Action Forces (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, wihout coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other government officials who were seen to have been needed in an operation of its scale. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), having signed a ceasefire agreement with the government, was also not informed of the operation and figured in a 10-hour firefight with the SAF. The encounter claimed the lives of 44 SAF troopers, 18 MILF fighters, 2 soldiers from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and 5 civilians.
“Both houses of Congress have also failed to ask about the other victims of the Mamasapano encounter: the community. There were 1,500 families who have evacauted. There were at least 5 civilians brutally killed by the SAF. Who among our national leaders have sought for justice for all these people?,” said Palatino, former representative of Kabataan Partylist in the House of Representatives.
People’s accounts
The discussion panel were composed of journalist Kenneth Guda of Pinoy Weekly and Gabriela Women’s Party representative Luz Ilagan, who attended a fact-finding mission in Mamasapano led by people’s organizations Suara Bangsamoro, Kawagib and Kalinaw Mindanao earlier this month. Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate and foreign law expert and University of the Philippines professor Roland Simbulan were resource speakers.
Guda and Ilagan narrated people’s accounts of the Mamasapano encounter. According to them, residents were not aware that there was an ongoing military operation in the area. Residents did not expect the encounter, since they were already assuming a ceasefire is in place, following the signing of the framework agreement and the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). Prior the encounter, the area has not experienced armed conflict for three years.
Guda recounted stories of residents sighting “small planes” flying around the three barangays (villages), Tukanalipao, Tuka and Pidsandawan a week before the massacre. All three barangays were close to Sitio Inogog, the place where Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan was killed. These “small planes” turned out to be drones which disturbed members of the community.
The night before the incident, Guda added that residents said they experienced a sudden brown-out. By around 2 in the morning of January 25, residents heard gunfires which lasted until around 4 in the morning.
Meanwhile, Ilagan narrated how people’s lives were affected due to the encounter. Several families evacuated to their nearby relatives. Several livelihoods were affected as people fear going back to their cornfields. She also added people even find bullets and grenades left in the fields.
US and Aquino accountability
Representative Zarate meanwhile said President Noynoy Aquino, being the Commander-in-Chief, must be held accountable for the Mamasapano encounter. He said the President had knowledge of the incident, but was too focused on capturing Marwan, at the expense of the Filipino SAF troopers and the civilians.
“Ang nangyari po sa Mamasapano ay isang trahedya na ang dahilan ay napaka-laking ego ng Presidente natin na sa January 25, birthday ng nanay po niya, ay mahuli o mapatay si Marwan [What happened is a tragedy due the oversized ego of our President who wanted Marwan captured or killed on January 25, the birthday of his mother],” Zarate said.
UP professor Simbulan questioned why the cut-off finger of Marwan was sent directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States instead of crime laboratories in the country.
“This was from the very start a US operation,“ he affirmed.
Similarly, Simbulan discussed the US government’s war against terrorism in several countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria and described these countries as those who oppose the “empire” being established by US.
Simbulan added that the possible de facto chain of command in the incident is the United States government on top, followed by President Aquino, then General Alan Purisima, and lastly the SAF troopers.
“Nung nabulilyaso ang plano nila, pinabayaan nalang ng ating pamahalaan, ni PNoy at ng US [When the SAF’s operation got botched up, our government, Pnoy and US left them be],” he assumed.
Pursuing justice
BAYAN Secretary General Renato Reyes affirmed the people’s desire to pursue the fight for justice.
In a statement, Reyes said, “People power is a vital means to seek truth and extract accountability from the highest officials of our land. Aquino should not forget the lessons of history because he will suffer the same fate as previous regimes that faced the people’s anger.”
Various groups will participate in a human chain and rally on Wednesday, February 25, anniversary of People Power or EDSA 1 that toppled the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and placed the late presidential mother Corazon Aquino to presidency.
