As
per directive of President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Department of Justice
(DOJ) has formed a joint task force for the conduct of parallel investigation
on the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash that left 44 members of the Philippine National
Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) dead.
DOJ
Secretary Leila de Lima said their investigation will be focused on a
"case buildup" for the possible filing of charges.
De
Lima said she has ordered the creation of a joint task force composed of
members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National
Prosecution Service that will build up the case.
"We
will be closely coordinating with the Philippine National Police, with the
Board of Inquiry, and of course, we will not be precluded also from gathering
evidence so as to help in the case buildup," she said.
She
said the case buildup was still in its early stages and that she has yet to
finalize the composition of the joint task force.
A
total of 44 PNP-SAF personnel were killed while 12 others were wounded during
the 11-hour firefight on Jan. 25 with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano,
Maguindanao. The MILF said 17 of its fighters were killed in the clash.
The
PNP-SAF members supposedly entered an MILF-controlled area in Mamasapano to
arrest Filipino bombmaker Abdulbasit Usman and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader
Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan. Government officials earlier said Marwan was
most likely killed in the operation, although this has yet to be supported by
solid evidence.
Aside
from the DOJ, both Houses of Congress will also conduct their own
investigations into the clash.
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