DOJ starts prelim probe of 90 suspects in Mamasapano clash

The Department of Justice on Friday started its preliminary investigation of 90 people, including Moro rebel commanders, over the deadly Mamasapano encounter last January.

The suspects, who were charged with the complex crime of direct assault with murder and theft, belonged to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, private armed groups, or the local government of Mamasapano.

During the preliminary probe, the camp of one of the respondents, Lakman Dawaling, submitted to the DOJ a certification it had secured from the MILF stating that he does not belong to the rebel group.

"This is to certify further that, Lakman K. Dawaling, is not a field commander of 118th Base Command and he is a civilian," read the certification that was signed by Abdulwahid Tondok of the MILF's 118th Base Command.

Meanwhile, the respondents also submitted another certification, this time from the Department of Interior and Local Government, that respondent Mustapha Inggo Tatak is the duly elected Punong Barangay of Barangay  Sapakan in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Dawaling and Tatak are being legally represented in the proceedings by lawyer Ronald Hallid Torres. The lawyer represents a third client, a former teacher.

"We're really surprised how come his name was included in the respondents. We don't know, we don't have any idea yet whether they form part of the MILF, the BIFF, or the private armed groups, because we are yet to receive a copy of the complaint-affidavit," said Torres.

Asked why none of his three clients showed up at the PI, Torres said: "Considering the distance and the financial constraints, it's not easy for them to just come today and appear."

A fourth suspect, Pendatun Utek Makakua, also denied being an MILF member, saying he is a farmer.

"I am not a field commander of the MILF 118th Base Command, Mamasapano, Maguindanao. I am not a member of the MILF all my life in my place and finished only six grade elementary," he said in his affidavit.

Makakua's lawyer Carlos Valdez told reporters his client would "most likely" appear in future hearings of the DOJ. "Definitely, he's not in hiding. [His absence now has] nothing to do with this case. I know him," said Valdez. Valdez said he and Makakua are friends.

The DOJ panel handling the complaint gave the 90 respondents to submit their counter-affidavits when the preliminary probe resumes on December 17.

The complaint was earlier filed with the DOJ by a joint team from the National Bureau of Investigation and the National Prosecution Service.

Those charged included 26 from the MILF, 12 from the BIFF, 52 who were either members of private armed groups (PAGs) or the Office of the Mayor of Mamasapano, or with no affiliations.

Of the implicated MILF members, 13 are battalion or field commanders, while among the charged BIFF members, six are commanders. The charged MILF members are members of the group's 105th and 118th Base Commands.

The charges only covered the killings of 35 members of the 55th Special Action Company. The investigators clarified that the complaints do not cover the death of the nine SAF commandos of the 84th Seaborne Company, who attempted to arrest but later neutralized Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan at his hut in Barangay Pidsandawan in Mamasapano.

The NBI-NPS explained that the charge lodged against them were "complex" crime of direct assault with murder because there was treachery and abuse of superior strength, as evidenced by the suspects' shooting at close range even if the victims were already injured, dying or no longer had any means to defend themselves.

There were reportedly close to a thousand MILF, BIFF, and PAGs who attacked the SAF commandos, but the lack of witnesses led the investigators to file charges to only 90 respondents, who were all identified by five witnesses, including one codenamed "Marathon."

Former Justice Sec. Leila de Lima said all the witnesses have been placed under the Witness Protection Program.

The complaints formed part of the first part of the NBI-NPS investigation on the Mamasapano encounter. The second part of the investigation did not yield any formal complaints after witnesses failed to identify the perpetrators behind the deaths of the nine SAF commandos of the 84th Seaborne Company. — Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News