Don’t politicize SAF probe: families to top gov’t execs

By Gina Dizon

Families of the 13 slain Special Action Force (SAF) commandos from Cordillera region urged authorities not to politicize the incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao exactly one year ago Monday and, instead, focus their energies on finding the truth and doing justice to all parties.

Here at the gardens of Teachers Camp, family members recounted their visit to Mamasapono, Maguindanao when they went to call on the spirits of their dead sons who perished in the Jan. 25 massacre.
The Jan. 26 healing ritual conducted by Cordillera Council of Elders and led by elder Andres Ngao-i re-echoed the visit at Mamasapano where elders called on home all the names of Cordillera Special Action Force (SAF) who died during the bloody fight against the combined force of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters(BIFF).

The 13 Cordillera SAF were part of a 392 armed force to get terrorist Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir also known as Marwan. Forty four SAF died in the fight.
            The slain SAF from the Cordillera were PO2 Peterson Carap of Kabayan, Benguet and Bontoc, Mountain Province; PO1 Gringo Cayang-o of Sadanga, Mountain Province; PO1 Angel Kodiamat of Bontoc, Mountain Province; PO2 Jerry Kayob of La Trinidad, Benguet; PO2 Nobel Kiangan of Mankayan, Benguet; PO3 Noel Golocan of Mankayan, Benguet, and Sagada, Mountain Province; PO2 WalnerDanao of Irisan, Baguio City; Senior Inspector GednatTabdi of La Trinidad, Benguet; PSI Cyrus Anniban of Balbalan, Kalinga and Bontoc Mountain Province; PO3 Robert Allaga of Banaue, Ifugao; PO2 Franklin Danao of Tinoc, Ifugao; PO2 Nicky De Castro Nacino Jr. of Baguio City and Aurora Province; and PO1 RusselBilog of Tabuk City, Kalinga and Sagada, Mountain Province.
CelestinoKiangan, father of SAF Noble Kiangan from Mankayan, Benguetsaid,”It  is our culture to call on the spirits of the dead when they die in other places.

It was in the same occasion that Senior Insp. Orate Kayob, brother of slain P02 Jerry Kayob has a big question: Why there was no reinforcement when it was only a 15 minute walk from the road where the other PNP staff was stationed. 

The same question that Senator Ponce Enrile asked authorities from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the conduct of the recently re-opened Mamasapono Senate investigation. 
The families have a pending demand: that justice is done for their sons who died in the massacre.

The main question was: why they were not given reinforcement. As the  SAF men were out in the battlefield and fought their fight against hundreds of MNLF men they were expecting help from the PNP authorities.

Here, elders also asked why only two SAF were given medals of valor which included the father of PO2 Cyrus Anniban who traces his roots from Bontoc and Kalinga  

National Economic and Development Authority director and secretariat of Regional Development Council Milagros Rimando in said event said the 14 SAF should be named as Cordillera heroes. 

Speaking on the first anniversary of the Mamasapano tragedy in La Trinidad, Benguet, EdnaTabdi said: “I favor the reopening of the investigation to be able to shed light on what really happened and penalize those who are responsible. But I hope that the next investigation will be worthwhile and truthful with the aim of finding out the real truth and will not just be used to advance the political gains of the people running in office.”

Tabdi is the mother of Senior Insp.  GednatTabdi, leader of one of the Teams of the 84th Special Action Company (SAC) who received posthumously from President Aquino at Camp Crame, Quezon City, yesterday, the “MedalyangKagitingin,” the highest police award for combat which is equivalent to the military’s Medal of Valor.

Tabdi, along with families, relatives and friends of the 13 sons of Cordillera who were martyred in the SAF operation to neutralize two high-profile terrorists hiding out in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, marked the first anniversary of their deaths with a wreathlaying ceremony at the Heroes Wall of the Police Regional Office Office-Cordiller (PRO-Cor) Headquarters, here.

“I hope clarity is achieved in the reopening of the investigation into the incident to help us know the truth and cope with our loss,” said Tabdi, who spoke in behalf of the other families of the victims.

During the ceremony, Chief Superintendent Robert Quenery, PRO-Cor deputy regional director for administration, expressed his sympathy to the families of the SAF 44 and then joined the tree-planting activity inside this camp in honor of the 44 slain SAF members.