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3/13/2015

Eight shades of truth | Inquirer Opinion

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Eight shades of truth


Randy David

Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:09 AM | Thursday, March 12th, 2015

@inquirerdotnet

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Eight separate investigations have been launched to determine the truth behind the Mamasapano
incident. They are likely to produce eight shades of truth, rather than one. This should not pose
any problemexcept to those who think of the truth as if it were something out there, waiting to
be ferreted out. As I said in a previous column, I favor the pragmatist concept of truth as
something that is made or constructed for a specific purpose.
There is only one Mamasapano incident, but many ways of looking at it. Some investigations, in
their aspiration to produce the definitive account of what happened, may attempt to be as
comprehensive as they can by focusing on a broad range of topics. But, rather than create a more
complete picture, this attempt to aggregate different observational standpoints into a single vision
may only bring out more blind spots.

March 1

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So much expectation, for instance, has attended the much-awaited report on Mamasapano by the
Philippine National Polices board of inquiry (BOI). This heightens the temptation to cover all the
questions that have been raised by various sectors of the public. The BOI would be well advised to
avoid this pitfall by not thinking of itself as a truth commission. Its task, to my mind, is far

There
peace

narrower in scope: to review what happened from the perspective of the PNPs mandate, norms,
procedures and tactical protocols. It may draw lessons and recommend sanctions specific to the
work of the police as an organization. But it is not its business to pronounce itself on political,
legal, or policy questions that are outside its area of competence.
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Eight shades of truth | Inquirer Opinion

Legal questions properly belong to the Department of Justice, which is conducting a separate
investigation. It is the DOJs function to determine the facts from a legal perspective, to ask what
laws have been violated and by whom, and to file the appropriate charges. On the other hand, the
investigation by the Commission on Human Rights looks specifically at possible violations of
human rights standards and protocols that may have been committed by both state and nonstate
actors. Apart from recommending the filing of charges, its main interest would be to formulate
measures aimed at preventing the future occurrence of such abuses.
On top of these, the two chambers of Congress, as we know, initiated their own separate inquiries
into this incident. The Senate completed its hearings, but the House, probably sensing its inability
to rationalize its deliberations after one hearing, decided to suspend its investigation. These are
supposed to be hearings in aid of legislationmeaning, their conduct is meant to guide the
crafting or revision of laws and existing policies, not to determine guilt or assign culpability. But,
given that the Senate and the House are autonomous political bodies, with a pronounced

Pinoy Kasi

inclination to liberally interpret their oversight function, it is not easy in practice to delimit the
scope of their inquiries. Not surprisingly, these sessions often take on the character of police
investigations or of courtroom trials.
Interestingly, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front launched its own investigation of the
Mamasapano encounter in the light of the fact that a large number of its troops had participated

March 12, 2015

Role model

Eight shades o

in that firefight. The MILF is struggling to maintain its credibility as a partner in a protracted peace
process that is about to bear fruit. Its main interest, I imagine, would be to determine how the
misencounter happened, which of its local commands were drawn into it, why, and what
violations, if any, were committed by the various combatants in that unfortunate encounter. The
results of the investigation may lead the MILF to sanction some of its warriors if only to show that
it is in control of its troops. But, I dont think it will agree to hand them over to the Philippine
government for prosecution.
Separate reports, we are told, are also being prepared by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
the International Monitoring Team (IMT) on the Peace Process. The AFP investigation will surely
highlight the circumstances surrounding its inability to respond in a timely manner to the
desperate pleas for reinforcement from the beleaguered Special Action Force troops. It will likely
focus on the protocols governing the conduct of various types of military operations, as a way of
showing the impossibility of acceding to the SAF request without the benefit of prior coordination.
Finally, the IMT report will probably zero in on the existing ceasefire agreement, how it was
broken, and why it took time to restore it once it was breached at Mamasapano. It may focus on
the complexities of managing the fragile conditions of peace in conflict situations, and draw
lessons on what it would take to prevent more bloodshed from endangering the ongoing peace
process. This kind of truth is no less important, but it may not merit much attention from those
who are far from the field of battle.
To these eight shades of truth, one may now add President Aquinos ownstill a shade of gray to
many, even after three speeches, because of its ambivalences and glosses. His third speech on
the matter (which came as a lengthy reply to a question from the audience at a gathering of
Christian evangelical church leaders in Malacaang), adds the least clarity to what has remained
very much a clouded issue. The President seemed torn between taking ultimate responsibility for
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what government does or fails to do, and protecting himself from criminal liability. In any event, it
was awkward to hear the Commander in Chief heap all the blame on a single police officer for
lapses committed in a mission that he, the President himself, had reviewed and authorized.
***

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March 10, 2015

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