‘Too many probes blemish the truth’

THE Cebu Provincial Board has approved a resolution asking the Office of the President to integrate  all investigations on the Mamasapano debacle that claimed the lives of 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF).

Board Member Arleigh Sitoy, in his resolution, said that “conducting too many probes may only blemish the truth behind what really happened during the clash and facts regarding who should be accountable may be unclear.”

“It is the president who is supposed to hire somebody to lead an independent body to conduct an investigation. Everything should be consolidated because there are too many investigating bodies,” he told reporters in a separate interview

The resolution was approved on omnibus motion during the Provincial Board’s regular session yesterday.

“One independent unified fact finding probe is enough to conduct the investigation such that the truth may be accomplished,” said Sitoy.

At present, there are eight investigating bodies conducting a probe.

Among these are the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry; fact finding teams of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); Department of Justice; and Commission on Human Rights.

The Senate has started its probe yesterday while the House of Representatives is also planning to launch its own.

A parallel investigation is reportedly being conducted by the Special Commission of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and an international monitoring team as part of the peace process.

Other groups that want to investigate the incident are the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Truth commission
Sitoy said that the President could form a “Truth Commission” to conduct the investigation, an echo of what some senators have earlier proposed.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III proposed to create a Truth Commission wherein the president will have to appoint its members.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, however, believes that the probe on the Mamasapano clash may have problems with impartiality if Aquino were to choose the members of the investigating body.

Binay, in a statement, suggested that an independent investigating body be formed which should include the Catholic Church, representatives of other religious organizations, and former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court as members.