MILF Report on Mamasapano Incident ‘Farcical’ — Pagdilao

(PNA) — Rep. Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr. (ACT-CIS Party-list) expressed his disappointment on Wednesday with the “farcical” findings of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as contained in its own version of the Mamasapano incident report.

Pagdilao said he did not agree with the findings of the MILF that justified the brutality of its armed men when they decimated all the members of the 55th Special Action Company (55th SAC) except for the lone survivor, Police Officer 2 Christopher Lalan, in the cornfield of Tukanalipao, Mamasapano town, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.

He also said the MILF’s claim that the SAF piled up their comrades and used them as shields was ridiculous because it ran contrary to human experience. Normally, soldiers would pull their wounded comrades to protect them from the barrage of enemy fires with hope that the wounded can still be saved even if they appear dead already.

The former senior police officer-turned-politician also noted the incredulous assertion of the MILF in its investigation report that the members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the armed wing of the MILF, did not use unnecessary force against the SAF troopers because forensic findings and autopsy reports concluded that 26 out of the 44 SAF — majority from the 55th SAC — were shot in the head, seven were shot through the back of the head, seven were shot between the eyes and the rest were shot through the forehead. The trajectories of the bullets further indicated that they were shot while lying on the ground.

All these results indicated that the MILF did not exercise restraint and that the SAF troopers were finished off, he said.

The neophyte lawmaker said that on a general note, the MILF lost a golden opportunity to show to the Filipino people that it is capable of fairness and objectivity when it comes to dealing with their members.

Pagdilao took note of the MILF’s pointing the blame to the rival groups Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the other partisan armed group in the area as the perpetrators behind the killing of PO1 Joseph Sagonoy, a member of the 55th SAC, as seen on the viral video.

This, he said, is an ominous sign of how the MILF will dispense justice in the future on similar situations or incidents.

“Obviously, the MILF showed no sincerity and chose to be blind when it saw no wrong in the brutality conducted by those MILF or BIFF as shown by the video footages. That’s no way a partner in the peace process behaves,” Pagdilao pointed out.

“They had totally lost whatever is left of the people’s faith, trust and confidence. This is farcical,” he stressed. (PNA) SCS/SFM