JPE urges Duterte to attend reopening of Mamasapano probe

MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile on Tuesday urged presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to attend as a witness in the Senate’s reopening of the Mamasapano probe following his claims that he was with President Benigno Aquino III in Zamboanga City during the Mamasapano incident last year.

Enrile said it is a “moral duty” for Duterte to spill what he knows as to why Aquino went to Zamboanga City on Jan. 25, 2015, considering that it was the birthday of the president's late mother, former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino.  He stressed that it is important for the presidential aspirant to cooperate as he is also gunning for presidency and to determine if  he is only downplaying the case.

"Iyon ang gusto kong malaman at palagay ko iyon din ang gustong malaman ng madla. Ano ba ang ginagawa ng presidente noong araw na iyon, Sunday iyon eh. Nagpunta siya sa Zamboanga kahit may seremonya dito sa Maynila na prinepara ng kanyang pamilya doon sa Manila Memorial Cemetery sa ika-82 birthday celebration ng kanyabng yumaong ina, si dating Pangulong Corazon C. Aquino," Enrile said in a radio interview last January 17.

"Ngayon noong nandoon na siya sa Zamboanga, alam ba niya ang nangyayari? Wala siyang imik eh. Palagay ko naman ang taumbayan gustong malaman iyon,” he added.

In a report, Duterte claimed that former Interior secretary and presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas II invited him to join Aquino at the Edwin Andrews Airbase in Zamboanga City on January 25 last year, during the Mamasapano incident.

Duterte did not reveal the details of his attendance noting that these were confidential. He said he is hopeful that the truth will be revealed during the reopening of the Mamasapano inquiry on Wednesday, January 27.

Enrile is determined to question the president’s role in the Mamasapano probe.

“The people have a right to know whether or not the highest leader was fit to exercise his powers,” Enrile said on Tuesday.

The senator disclosed that he will present own materials that were not taken up in the previous hearings during the reopening of the probe.

“All I promise is that I have materials to establish the role of the president in the Mamasapano operations,” Enrile said.

“I will prove eight specifications against the president. The material, which will show what the president did and did not do, will be understandable to the layman,” he added.

Enrile said he initiated the reopening of the Mamasapano probe for the country and for the people.