By Sammy F. Martin
MANILA, Feb. 2 (PNA) — Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. proposed for a joint congressional inquiry on the recent clash between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25.
In a chance interview on Monday, Belmonte said he preferred that both Houses of Congress will have a single inquiry instead of forming an independent truth commission as earlier proposed.
The House leadership said that it would be easy for the both Houses of Congress to just have combined investigation so that it would be easy for the lawmakers to summon and invite all the resource persons and other officials involve in the planning and during the operations that led to the death of 44 members of the elite Special Action Force(SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“A joint hearing with the Senate, that is the proposal. I am willing to make. I have talked this over with Negros Occidental Representative Jeffrey Ferrer and he is also in favor of it. I believe the House and Senate are the parties but for the sake of efficiency and will not require need people to come twice,” Belmonte said.
Ferrer, chairman of the House committee on Public Order and Safety, has already faxed invitations to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, and relieved SAF commander Police Director Getulio Napeñas.
Belmonte said that Espina has respectfully declined the invitation due to the many urgent tasks he said he needs to attend to first while Roxas and Napeñas have yet to confirm their attendance.
“These calls for a congressional probe will push through. There is no gag order or whitewash here because I too want to get to the bottom of this matter,” Belmonte pointed out.
He said he already instructed the Visayan lawmaker to talk with their counterparts in the Senate especially Senator Grace Poe for the possible joint probe.
Ferrer’s committee is scheduled to start their probe tomorrow (Tuesday) but Belmonte advised Ferrer to communicate with his Senate counterpart for a possible joint investigation over the death of 44 SAF troopers from the hands of the members of the 105th Base Commandof the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The Speaker insisted that there’s no need to form an independent probe body since Congress “has certain powers under the law” to investigate the matter.
“I relay that Congress is the proper party. Congress has certain inherent powers sa batas. We don’t need any simple resolution to call meeting or enable committee to set a hearing … we have the proper party to do it, not some retired justices. We are the proper party,” Belmonte insists. (PNA)