Press Release
January 24, 2016

Sen. Marcos urges new acting DOJ Secretary to prioritize Mamasapano case

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. today urged the newly-appointed acting Justice Secretary to put top priority on the filing of cases in court against those responsible for the death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in the January 25, 2015 Mamasapano massacre.

Marcos is concerned that the recent changes in the leadership of the Department of Justice may further delay the completion of the preliminary investigation on the Mamasasapano massacre.

"I hope the resolution of the preliminary investigation of the Mamasapano massacre case would not be side-lined as a result of this sort of 'musical chairs' we saw at the DoJ. It has been a year since that bloody incident but not a single case in court has been filed to prosecute the suspects," said Marcos.

With the appointment of Acting Justice Secretary Alfredo Caguioa as Supreme Court Associate Justice, Malacanang named Justice Undersecretary Emmanuel Caparas to take his place.

Malacañang later announced the appointment of Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas to replace Caguioa who in turn took over from former Justice Secretary Leila De Lima barely three months ago.

"I don't know why it's taking the DoJ so long. There were eyewitness accounts, there were videos and other kinds of evidence so it's really puzzling why until now we have not heard of any positive development in the Mamasapano case," said Marcos.

Earlier Marcos requested the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs to invite De Lima and Atty. Virgilio Mendez, Director of the National Bureau of Investigation to testify about the status of the case in the reopening of the Mamasapano investigation on January 27.

Marcos has been urging the DoJ to speed up its preliminary investigation against the named respondents in the case, noting the families of the SAF 44 did not ask for anything from the government except for justice for their loved ones.

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