Mamasapano

Will new angles or insights be revealed if the Senate probe of the Mamasapano encounter in January is reopened?

That's the question now that Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile has said he wants to ask questions about the gunbattle in order to put closure to the issue.

Enrile is said to be interested in finding out what the government was actually doing when the encounter between the PNP Special Action Force and Moro rebels was asking place.

Sen. Grace Poe, who as chair of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, led the Mamasapano probe, poses no objection to Enrile’s motion. But she added she stood by the draft report of her committee.

The reopening of the Mamasapano probe should be able to tell us exactly what happened considering that President Aquino as commander-in-chief was apparently aware of what exactly was going on during the encounter. We surmise that Enrile, a veteran lawyer, must know what questions to ask from witnesses, and perhaps hammer on what the commander-in-chief Aquino did—or didn’t do—that would give the nation a clear picture of what really is command responsibility in cases like this.

By all means, reopen the probe, so that we can all know the truth.