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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stay calm and seek truth and justice

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IN an attempt to defuse public outrage at the slaughter of 44 policemen by Muslim rebels and the government’s limp response to the atrocity, administration officials asked for calm and rejected calls for an independent Truth Commission to investigate the Jan. 25 bloodbath.

The call for calm comes a little too late, and the refusal to form an independent commission is dead wrong.

In an interview over state-run radio, the President’s spokesman urged the public to remain calm and appreciate “the bigger picture,” which is the country’s battle against terrorism and its desire to attain long-term peace in Mindanao.

“If we allow intense feelings at emotions to rule, we may lose focus on more important priorities,” the spokesman said.

The same spokesman rejected calls for an independent commission, saying that the government has already formed its own board of inquiry, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front —which defended its role in the killings—has formed its own “executive commission” to look into the incident.

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Those who propose an independent commission, the spokesman added, should “think hard… so that we can form a unified view of the situation.”

Had the administration been more forthcoming in its initial response to the killings, these observations might have held some weight.

But the President took three full days to respond in public to the massacre, suggesting that his government was hiding something from the public about the failed police operation to capture an international terrorist who had apparently sought refuge in territory under the MILF’s control.

Worse, his limp response reinforced this perception and fueled public outrage. Instead of demanding justice for the fallen lawmen, this President made what amounted to a tasteless sales pitch to save the Bangsamoro Basic Law, on which the peace agreement with the MILF hinges.

The President’s own credibility took a beating when he admitted that he had consulted with his police chief on the anti-terrorist operation, even though the Ombudsman had already suspended him on allegations of unethical behavior and corruption.

As if this were not enough, the President showed poor judgment in skipping the arrival rites for the bodies of the slain policemen at Villamor Airbase on Wednesday in favor of inaugurating a new car plant. Then he punished the grieving families and friends of those killed by senselessly dedicating half of his speech at the necrological services to the death of his own father more than 20 years ago.

None of this inspires confidence or trust in the President or his government. On the contrary, it has only inflamed public anger over the entire incident and this administration’s ability to come clean.

Under these circumstances, an independent Truth Commission is probably the only way to restore calm in our search for truth and justice for the Fallen 44.

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