MANILA-While the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) claimed in its report that it did not use excessive force during the Mamasapano clash, the brutal death of 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Force (vis-à-vis 17 or 18 from their ranks) clearly belies such assertion.
The obliteration and gruesome execution of nearly all ground forces who entered Tukanalipao in lawful pursuit of terrorists Marwan and Basit Usman is indicative of a startling overkill by a group who is attempting to forge a peace pact with the government.
It is lamentable that the MILF failed to own up any responsibility in the bloody incident (except for failure of intelligence gathering) and conveniently blamed the SAF for the lack of coordination, whereas the PNP in its separate investigation honorably admitted to its own share of operational lapses and recognized command accountability up to the highest ranking official.
The MILF leadership failed to take charge over their members as they went trigger happy against policemen over a legitimate counterterrorism operation and to exercise respectable control over their area which became the hideout for international criminals.
To my mind, the MILF through its actions on the Mamasapano massacre lost serious ground in peace negotiations and eroded its own credibility in becoming the government’s partner in attaining peace and security in Mindanao.
