Will there ever be an explanation for the unexplained murders of left-wing militants and journalists? Last year a special commission headed by former Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Melo tried to dig up explanations. Earlier this year the commission submitted a preliminary report to Malacañang, blaming both military units and communist rebels for many of the killings.
The picture was incomplete, mainly because leftist groups did not trust any panel created by the administration to conduct a fair investigation and refused to participate in the fact-finding effort. Now there are reports that the commission may be revived.
If the truth is ever to be known, all concerned groups will have to give Melo the benefit of the doubt and cooperate with his commission. Only President Arroyo can create a fact-finding body and require her military and police officers and members of the executive branch to cooperate fully in the investigation.
Just because it was created by the Chief Executive does not mean a special panel has lost its independence. In the wake of the Oakwood mutiny in 2003, the President also created a special commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Florentino Feliciano. The commission did a credible job of assessing the roots of military unrest and recommending reforms in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Leftist groups have accused the AFP of summarily executing militants, most of them connected with Bayan Muna, the party-list organization tagged by security officials as a communist front. The AFP has denied the accusations, saying that some of the victims were murdered by rebels themselves in the latest communist purge – a charge that has been denied by the militants and their sympathizers. Others were killed as part of legitimate counterinsurgency operations, according to the AFP.
There is no way of unearthing the truth unless a formal investigation is conducted. For this, the cooperation of all concerned is required. Malacañang said some militant groups have expressed willingness to participate if the Melo Commission is revived. This raises hopes of uncovering the truth in some of the killings. In the search for truth, it is always useful to keep an open mind.