SATURDAY GROUP

MEDIA BRIEFER
MILF-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 mostwanted 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