NO TO REOPENING OF MAMASAPANO PROBE, YES TO FILING OF CHARGES AGAINST KILLERS OF SAF 44 - SEN. MARCOS

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos today rejected proposals for the reopening of the Senate investigation on the Mamasapano tragedy, where 44 police commandos were slain during an operation to neutralize Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as "Marwan").

Proposals for the reopening of the Senate probe over the tragic incident came in the wake of Pres. Benigno Aquino's statement last week that there may be an "alternative version" of the events in Mamasapano.

Marcos said he would only agree to the reopening of the Senate probe on the basis of new information. "I haven't seen any report indicating there is new information. For me, it is very clear that the hearings conducted by different bodies on the incident were thorough and complete," Marcos said.

Marcos noted that the different bodies that conducted separate investigations on the Mamasapano incident, such as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the House of Representatives and the Senate, came to similar conclusions.

He pointed out that claims that there is a Caucasian-looking male among the casualties and that Marwan was killed by his own security aide have been discussed during the Senate hearing of the Mamasapano incident. "We heard all of these stories before," Marcos said.

Marcos said that as far as he is concerned, the facts of the Mamasapano tragedy have been established clearly and so he could not understand why the President has floated the idea of an "alternative reality" that puts into question the heroism of the SAF 44.

"It is an extreme form of disrespect to the widows and families of the heroes, the SAF 44, who gave their lives for the capture and neutralization of Marwan in order to attain peace for the whole country," Marcos said.

"There is no such thing as an alternative reality. We already know what happened and what the country wants now is to provide justice not only for the families of the SAF 44 but for the entire Philippine National Police, This is what we should be talking about now," he added.

Marcos lamented that despite the promise of Justice Sec. Leila De Lima to file criminal charges against at least 90 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that took part in the killing of the SAF commandos, no cases have been filed to date.

"What happened to the NBI investigation? What happened to the cases that were supposed to be filed? What happened to the pronouncements of Sec. De Lima, that they would file cases against 90 people--that's the number she said? What happened to all that?"

Marcos reiterated his earlier statement that the "alternative reality" theory is being floated in a bid to cover up the President's own culpability for the Mamasapano tragedy.

The Senate probe found the President responsible for the January 25 Mamasapano tragedy.