BAGUIO CITY – Filipinos still believe that President Benigno Aquino III is still hiding sensitive matters about the Mamasapano massacre and the best thing for him to do is to admit his mistakes so that the healing of the wounds could start, a lawmaker said on Saturday.
“The public is expecting much from the President to set an example in telling the truth and acknowledging full responsibility for the incident so as not to keep everyone guessing along the sidelines,” Romualdez stressed.
Romualdez, one of the guests during the grand street-dancing parade of the 20th Panagbenga festival, said the healing of wounds cannot start until the questions of the families of the 44 slain commandos and the Filipino people are answered.
He said the flimsy excuses of Palace officials only sow more confusion and spawn even more questions that eventually lead to the suspicion that police and military officials are covering up the direct involvement of Aquino in the incident.
“We must listen to everyone who has direct knowledge about the incident. Let us not limit ourselves to who are involved in the incident. Let us not keep our people waiting because it might result to other matters beyond our control,” Romualdez said.
The congressman said the results of the police board of inquiry investigation will still be considered ‘half-baked’ because their jurisdiction is limited only to operations and what people want is the truth.
Romualdez said the President should not keep the public guessing on the circumstances that led to the Mamasapano massacre because it will create an avenue of distrust among leaders of the nation.
He also expressed disappointment over the decision of the House leadership to suspend the hearings on the Mamasapano massacre, saying the House leadership made a decision that is only leading people to presume that congressmen are in cahoots with Malacañang to cover-up the whole incident.
Since the proposal to create a Truth Commission passed on second reading in the Senate, Romualdez said proponents of the Truth Commission in the House will increase because of the groundswell of demands for the truth on the Mamasapano massacre.