Iqbal: SAF execution video may be altered

MANILA, Philippines - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) doubts the authenticity of a video showing a Special Action Force (SAF) trooper being executed in cold blood, even as the “revolutionary group” was urged yesterday to identify the killer.

Facing the Senate for the first time yesterday, MILF chief negotiator Mohager Iqbal admitted that it was his group that clashed with the SAF but he could not say if the executioner in the video was one of their members.

“It’s hard to answer that question. If I say that one of our troopers did that without investigation, it will be self-incrimination,” Iqbal told senators when asked if the killer in the video that has gone viral online is an MILF member.

“We do not know who did that. Baka ang gumawa niyan, gusto lang manira (Maybe the one who did that just wanted to defame somebody),” he said.

Iqbal noted that videos could easily be created because of advanced technology. He said the MILF is governed by rules requiring humane treatment for prisoners of war and prohibiting the desecration of the dead.

“Let us wait for the results of the investigations so that we will be able to know the truth,” he said.

Iqbal said he has not yet seen the video, which has drawn widespread condemnation.

When asked by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano if he agreed that whoever did it is a terrorist, Iqbal replied, “I think if there’s a word stronger than terrorist, it can be that.”

Asked if he agreed that the person behind the brutal killing is a monster, Iqbal said, “I agree with madam honorable Sen. Grace Poe that whoever did this deserves the highest condemnation.”

The six-minute video uploaded on social networking site Facebook shows a wounded man in fatigues, writhing on the ground, being shot repeatedly in the head until dead. Succeeding frames show more armed men moving around a cornfield, stripping other slain men of their equipment.

Police officials confirmed during a House hearing last Wednesday that the slain trooper was a member of the 55th Special Action Company, the unit that clashed with Moro rebels in Mamasapano last Jan. 25.

The military described the video as “disturbing” and has called on the public to respect the feelings of the families of policemen who died during the encounter.

In a news forum yesterday, Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat said that the MILF “should help identify the killer of that SAF policeman.”

The SAF trooper shown in the video was identified as PO1 Joseph Sagonoy.

For his part, Rep. Terry Ridon said the MILF should not only help identify the trooper’s killer but should turn him over to government investigators if ever he turns out to be one of their fighters.

Ridon said it is clear from the footage that the wounded man was still alive when another figure, who appears to be a man, fired two shots point-blank to his head, killing him instantly.
In a television interview, MILF vice chairman Ghadzali Jaafar said speculations that the shooter belongs to the MILF were baseless.

Jaafar said it is clear in the video that there was no way to tell whether the killer is a member of the MILF or its breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

He could be a civilian, he said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said he does not intend to see the footage “because I was told the killing of our policeman was so brutal.”

Espina cried during the course of the House hearing on Wednesday, telling congressmen that some of his men did not sustain fatal wounds in their clash with Moro fighters but “were finished off with close-range shots in the head.”

Video depicts ‘horrifying murder,’ violates human rights

The viral video shows grave abuse of human rights and violation of international humanitarian laws, according to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

CHR Chairman Loretta Ann Rosales said the commission has been briefed about the video footage of the killing of a SAF trooper.

“The video depicts the commission of a horrifying murder and the desecration of lifeless bodies,” Rosales said.

“The commissioners and I are convinced that the scenes depicted in the video show grave human rights and international humanitarian law violations,” she added.

Rosales said the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which applies during an internal armed conflict, prohibits violence to life and persons, particularly murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture.

“This legal standard points to a moral duty: the wounded and sick in a battlefield should not be finished off but cared for. Violating this duty is nothing short of barbaric or inhuman,” she said.

Don’t spread the video

The CHR called on the public to not spread the video “out of respect for the families of those who have died during the Mamasapano incident in their period of mourning.”

“Justice will only be served if this video is authenticated at the soonest possible time in accordance with legal norms and made part of the evidence in fact-finding, case build-up and prosecution,” said Rosales.

The CHR chief also asked the public to help identify the person who originally uploaded the video on the Internet so that he or she may be held accountable before the law.

“Equally important, the video and its digital characteristics shall undergo forensic examination in order to qualify it as evidence for the ongoing independent investigation of the CHR,” added Rosales.

The CHR is conducting its own fact-finding independent investigation on the Mamasapano clash.

Data gathered by the commission showed that at least five civilians and 18 rebels died in the bloodbath, in addition to the 44 SAF members.

At least 1,500 families have been displaced as a result of the operation, the agency said.

If reinforcement came…

“My kuya (elder brother) would have been alive if there was immediate reinforcement.”

This was according to the younger brother of PO1 Joseph Sagonoy, who was confirmed to be the SAF trooper shown being brutally killed in the viral video footage.

Julius Sagonoy told The STAR that they had seen the video and it was indeed his brother who was shown being shot at close range by a still unidentified man with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

“It was really him. I could not be mistaken because he is my brother,” Julius said in a phone interview.

Julius believed that if there were immediate and proper reinforcements, his elder brother could have survived. “My brother was tortured and treated like a dog. He was killed like some animal,” he said.

Julius noted that his mother has been crying every day and could not accept the death of his brother. He questioned why the video was uploaded, which only further hurt them.

“Kuya is sending us to school. He promised to remain single until we have all graduated and he could give us a better life. He is too young to die,” Julius said.

He appealed to President Aquino to ensure that justice will be served for the 44 slain SAF troopers.

The military said no immediate assistance was extended during the SAF operations in the absence of proper coordination. They also pointed out they were wary about sending troops because of the ongoing peace talks.

Where is promised aid?

PO2 Nicky Nacino Jr. would have turned 31 yesterday, with his father wishing that the President would fulfill his promise to provide assistance to the family.

Nineteen days after he and 43 other police commandos were shot in cold blood in the Mamasapano clash, his grieving family quietly observed with prayers the birth anniversary of their sole breadwinner.

Nacino’s father Nicky Sr. said his wish is for Aquino to make good on the promise he gave when he talked to the family in a closed-door meeting.

He said that up to now, the promised assistance has never reached them.

Asked if he would like to appeal to the Chief Executive, he said he would just wait. “I hope it would come,” said Nicky Sr., whose birthday was also yesterday.

The SAF trooper’s widow Roselle echoed her father-in-law’s sentiments, saying the only help they have received came from private individuals.

Nicky Sr. also expressed hope that those responsible for the massacre would surrender. But his wife Catherine just said, “They will never do that,” referring to the armed groups involved in the incident. 

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay handed out yesterday P20,000 checks from the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG Fund to the families of two fallen SAF troopers.

The families of PO1 Windel Candano and PO1 Romeo Cempron, both from Cebu, received the checks from the Vice President during the “Pag-IBIG I Do, I Do” mass wedding in Mandaue City yesterday.

Binay said the cash benefit came from the accumulated savings and dividends of the deceased in Pag-IBIG, along with their death benefits.

As chair of the government housing sector, Binay also said they are studying the possibility of providing housing and other benefits for families of the SAF members killed and injured in action.

The Makati City government has also set aside P100,000 each for the families of the “Fallen 44,” which it will start distributing next week. The city government will also provide P100,000 cash assistance to 15 SAF troopers wounded in the Mamasapano encounter.

The dependents of the Fallen 44 and the 15 survivors were also offered scholarships at the University of Makati.  – With Marvin Sy, Janvic Mateo, Manny Galvez, Helen Flores, Jess Diaz, Cecille Suerte Felipe