SATURDAY GROUP MEDIA BRIEFERMILF-BIFF ENCOUNTER WITH THE PNP-SAF

!Rep. Romeo Acop

Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil Rep. Samuel Pagdilao

Rep. Gary Alejano Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo

Basic Facts An operation was conducted to serve a warrant of arrest vs. a

high-value target suspected of terrorist activities (Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan) and a certain Basit Usman

The operation involved elements of the PNP Special Action Force who encountered rebels from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) under a certain Commander Guiawan and armed elements from the MILF 105th Base Command

The ensuing encounter resulted to 29 KIA from the PNP-SAF (which was later reported to number as high as 50, according to the PNP-ARMM), and at least 4 MILF (raw reports say 13) combatants

Basic Facts @Marwan carried a $5 million bounty for his capture and

was on the PNP, FBI, and other security agencies most-wanted list

Government security forces are currently undertaking simultaneous pursuit operations, recovery of fatalities as well as the safe recovery of an undetermined number of policemen captured and held hostage

Videos and photos circulating online and verified by various media outlets show not only wounds consistent with an armed encounter but also reveal dastardly infliction of post-mortem mutilation

Basic Facts

MAMASAPANO MASSACRE - The encounter occurred in the town of Mamasapano in the province of Maguindanao, which is 67 km from Cotabato City and 20 km from the Liguasan Marsh (an area purported to be a hotbed for Moro secessionists and KFR groups)

Condemnation As Members of the House of Representatives, and as

former men in uniform ourselves in solidarity with our beleaguered comrades-in-arms, we CONDEMN in the strongest terms these actions jointly perpetrated by the MILF and the BIFF

The actions of the PNP-SAF were within the bounds of the law - in fact, to serve an arrest warrant - and within the prerogative of the State to pursue law enforcement operations especially targeted against suspected terrorists in the wake of a spate of bombings in various towns and cities in Mindanao

Condemnation

The pronouncements of the MILF regarding the failure of the PNP to coordinate with them regarding the operation notwithstanding, the brutal actions of both the MILF fighters and BIFF rebels cannot be justified and are, in fact, aggravated by the level of atrocity against legitimate security forces of the government as borne by the wounds of the dead police commandos

Policy Implications The Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL is hereby urged

to suspend its deliberations on the bill in deference to the casualties in the Mamasapano massacre and pending the result of an initial investigation by a multi-agency government panel

The concerned Representatives herein have filed a House Resolution in condemnation of the acts of the MILF and the BIFF as well as calling on the House Committee on Public Order and Safety to conduct its own inquiry into the matter

Policy Implications These Members of the House of Representatives condole

with and offer their most sincere sympathies to the families of the slain police commandos who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the performance of their duties

The government is strongly urged to prioritize the recovery of those killed in the Mamasapano massacre in order for them to be spared from more mutilation and brutalization and thereafter be accorded the burial honors due them

It is also strongly urged that death and other benefits due the families of the slain policemen be released immediately