BAGUIO CITY – Filipinos still believe that President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and his allies are still hiding sensitive matters in relation to the celebrated Mamasapano massacre that resulted in the murder of 44 members of the Philippine National Police – Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) that is why the best thing for the President to do is accept the sole responsibility for the healing of the wounds to start,” Leyte 1st district Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said here.
Romualdez, who was of the guests during the grand street dancing parade of the 20th edition of Panagbenga, said the healing process of the wounds created by the Mamasapano massacre cannot start if President Aquino continues to betray the relatives and family members of the 44 commmandos who died in action by keeping secrets in relation to the blunder that he might have committed in the operation.
“The public is expecting much from the President to set an example in telling the truth and acknowledging full responsibility for the incident so as not to keep everyone guessing along the sidelines,” Romualdez stressed.
He expressed disappointment over the decision of the House leadership to suspend the hearings on the Mamasapano massacre, saying that the House leadership seems not decisive on what to do which will greatly affect its image from the perception of the ordinary citizen that it is in cahoots with Malacañang to cover-up the whole incident.
Romualdez opined Palace officials and their allies should not resort to coming out with flimsy reasons such as lack of coordination or misencounter because what the people want are the incidents that resulted to the massacre and who will be taking full responsibility for it.
According to him, the finger pointing on who was in control of the situation at the time of the incident is immaterial because it just adds up to the confusion of the public and the stronger suspicion that some police and military officials are trying to cover up the direct involvement of the President on the incident which is not supposed to be considering that he is the Commander-in-Chief.
Romualdez said the results of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) investigation will still be considered ‘half-baked’ because their jurisdiction is limited only to the operation and what people want is the truth which is why the Makabayan block in Congress where Romualdez is a member is supportive of the creation of a Truth Commission.
“We must listen to everyone who has direct knowledge about the incident. Let us not limit ourselves to those who are involved in the incident. Let us not keep our people waiting because it might result to other matters beyond our control,” Romualdez said.
The Waray lawmaker believes that the President should not keep the public guessing on the circumstances that led to the Mamasapano massacre because it will create an avenue of distrust among leaders of the nation.
Since the proposal to create a Truth Commission passed the second reading in the Senate, Romualdez said proponents of the Truth Commission on the House will surely increase because of the snowballing clamor from the people for them to be informed of the truth on the Mamasapano massacre where the country lost 44 dedicated public servants.
