Enrile wants Aquino to attend reopened probe on Mamasapano tragedy Posted on January 13, 2016 by Paola Mira

Enrile wants Aquino to attend reopened probe on Mamasapano tragedy Posted on January 13, 2016 by Paola Mira 1443 REACTIONS FacebookTwitterSubscribe Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile wants President Benigno Aquino III to attend the reopened probe on the Mamasapano tragedy Sen. Enrile says there are questions not asked during the senate investigation Senator Grace Poe says she would wait for the decision of the committee on rules on the matter MANILA – Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile wants President Benigno Aquino III to be invited when the Senate reopens its investigation into the killing of 44 police commandos in Maguindanao. Enrile said he wants Aquino to attend the inquiry so that the Chief Executive could explain his actions or inaction that may have led to the Mamasapano incident. “I will ask for the reopening (of the investigation) so that we will ask the questions regarding the participation of each agency of government involved,” Enrile told reporters Monday. According to Enrile there are questions that were not asked during public and closed-door hearings conducted by the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs headed by Senator Grace Poe. on the Mamasapano incident In a story by Ernie Reyes of InterAksyon, Enrile sought the reopening of the probe on the Mamasapano incident because the senator wants to know the reason why the report of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, which was signed by 21 senators, called Aquino “ultimately responsible” for the said incident. Asked to comment on the issue Senator Grace Poe, in a text message to reporters, said she would wait for the decision of the committee on rules on the matter. “Sen. Enrile has formally asked for such reopening during the last session last week and the matter has been referred to the committee on rules considering that the Mamasapano joint committee report had been previously submitted. We shall await first the disposition of the committee on rules on this,” she said. According to a story by Amita Legaspi of GMA News, Enrile said last week that he wanted the Senate to discuss in the plenary the committee report on the Mamasapano incident which left over 60 people dead, including 44 police officers of the PNP Special Action Force and at least 17 fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The committee report stated that President Benigno Aquino III is responsible for the Mamasapano operation. Enrile, 91, was on hospital arrest at the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame at the height of the Senate hearings on the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash. Enrile was detained because of charges of plunder and graft and corruption in connection to the pork barrel scam, according to a story by Christian Mendez posted on the Philippine Star. Enrile returned to the Senate on August 24, 2015 nearly a week after the Supreme Court granted his petition to post bail due to poor health. “If P-Noy wants to answer the questions I intend to ask, I will welcome him. And if he wants to attend the hearing in the Senate, he is welcome to do so,” Enrile said. The members of the elite Special Action Force (SAF) were leaving a barrio in Mamasapano in Maguindanao after killing a infamous Malaysian terrorist when they encountered guerrillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). The commandos waited for reinforcements but it never came. The Senate committee on public order agreed to resurrect the probe upon Enrile’s request citing new information regarding the incident