At least 14 senators have signed the draft Senate committee report holding President Benigno Aquino III responsible for the January 25 Mamasapano incident, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday.
Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Order, drafted the report. The senator, in an earlier statement, said Aquino was accountable for the “Mamasapano massacre” since he allowed then suspended Philippine National Police chief Director-General Alan Purisima to be involved in overseeing Oplan Exodus in the morning of Jan. 25.
Besides Poe, the other senators who signed the report were:
- Senator Grace Poe
- Senator Francis Escudero
- Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III
- Senator Serge Osmena
- Senator Aqulino Pimentel III
- Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr
- Senator Alan Cayetano
- Senator Pia Cayetano
- Senator Nancy Binay
- Senator Ralph Recto
- Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago (via electronic signature)
- Senator Gringo Honasan
- Detained Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada
- Detained Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
According to Poe, Senators Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito and Loren Legarda have approved the committee report and will also sign it.
Ejercito is set to sign the report on Thursday when he returns from the United States. Legarda, on the other hand, will sign the report this afternoon.
Poe said the 14 signatories represent a majority of the members of the three committees which conducted an inquiry into the Mamasapano incident. This number is enough to submit the draft report to the plenary in May for either adoption or rejection.
Poe, on Tuesday, presented the report and said, “The buck stops with him (Aquino). If he can own up to it I’m sure the people would be less confused.”
She, however, said that Aquino “can only be held responsible through impeachment.”
The Mamasapano operation claimed the lives of more than 60 people, including the 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police Special Action Force.
