Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — There was a crime, but there were no suspects. Therefore, no complaints can be filed.
This was the gist of the second part of the Mamasapano report released on Thursday (October 8) after months of inquiry by the joint National Bureau of Investigation and National Prosecution Service (NBI-NPS) team, which was formed to look into the January 25 bloody encounter in Maguindanao that left 44 members of the police Special Action Force (SAF) dead.
Outgoing Justice Secretary Leila de Lima led a news conference on the same day to announce that, due to the lack of witnesses, no criminal cases could be pursued in relation to the death of nine members of the 84th Seaborne Company who penetrated the lair of international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan in Barangay Pidsandawan.
“Wala ho tayong pwedeng makasuhan, at this point, dahil wala ho talagang makapag-identify sa mga naka-engkwentro ng 84th Seaborne commandos,” De Lima said.
[Translation: “We cannot press charges against anyone, at this point, since there was no one who could identify those who assaulted the 84th Seaborne commandos.”]
The situation was unlike the first part of the Mamasapano report, which led to the filing of corresponding criminal cases last September 22 in connection with the death of 35 members of SAF 55th Special Action Company in Barangay Tukanalipao.
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With regard to the killing of civilians supposedly in the hands of lone survivor PO2 Christopher Lalan of the 55th SAC, De Lima said no crime had been established since no one was able to submit any proof of death — despite repeated requests from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the alleged victims’ next of kin.
The NBI-NPS team also concluded that there were no American fatalities in the encounter — as some reports claimed earlier — and that the participation of the United States in Oplan Exodus was limited to intelligence gathering and medical services.
De Lima said that the the alleged Caucasian-looking fatalities in the cornfield were fair-complexioned police commandos who might had been mistaken for foreigners.
She added that, in fact, the widow of one of those American-looking bodies shown in a video clip had come forward to identify that it was her Filipino husband.
Moreover, De Lima said the lengthy investigation brushed aside an alleged “alternative version” of who killed Marwan since the claims were made by four walk-in individuals with “shady characters” in an apparent effort to muddle the investigation.
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She admitted, though, to procedural lapses which broke the chain of custody in handling the severed finger of Marwan because it was immediately turning it over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But this did not violate any laws.
De Lima, however, said that the special investigating team was not closing the door for filing criminal cases in the future — should there be witnesses and evidence to surface.
