Palace: Up to Poe to reopen Mamasapano probe

MANILA, Philippines - It will be entirely up to Sen. Grace Poe to decide if she will reopen the Senate investigation on the Jan. 25 Mamasapano operation that led to the killing of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members, a Palace official said yesterday.

“We defer to the senator as to how she intends to proceed with the Mamasapano investigation in the Senate,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told Palace reporters.  

Poe on Thursday said the Senate is mulling the reopening of its investigation on the police operation carried out last Jan. 25 aimed at neutralizing suspected international terrorists Basit Usman and Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan.

This came after President Aquino revealed that he was pursuing a new lead on the Mamasapano debacle.

An encounter between the SAF men and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters led to the death of the police commandos.