DoJ secures conviction of 2 MILF commanders
‘This court victory is the fruit of the DoJ’s hard work and resilience in the face of adversity through the years, never backing down against injustice to uphold the rule of law.’
‘This court victory is the fruit of the DoJ’s hard work and resilience in the face of adversity through the years, never backing down against injustice to uphold the rule of law.’
Justice was finally attained in connection with the massacre of 35 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao after the court in Taguig City rendered guilty the accused two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders.
After almost a decade, Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 153 Judge Mariam Guzon Bien promulgated on 16 December 2024 its decision in People of the Philippines vs Abdul Wahab et. al., for 35 counts of direct assault with murder.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Department of Justice (DoJ), it said that instead of direct assault with murder, the RTC gave a lower sentence convicting Abubakar Guiaman alyas Commander Refy and Mohammad Ali Tambako for 35 Counts of Homicide.
The accused was slapped with eight years and one day of prision mayor as minimum, to 14 years, eight months and one day of reclusion temporal, as maximum for each count.
Despite the challenges and hurdles along the way, the DoJ never wavered from actively prosecuting this case infamously tagged as the “Mamasapano Massacre” which took place on 25 January 2015.
“This court victory is the fruit of the DoJ’s hard work and resilience in the face of adversity through the years, never backing down against injustice to uphold the rule of law. To my fellow Filipinos we have won,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” C. Remulla said in a statement issued Friday.
The DoJ also takes the opportunity to commend the following state lawyers who successfully secured this conviction, namely: Deputy State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez, Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Rex Gingoyon, Anna Devanadera, Amanda Felipe, Susan Azarcon, as well as former Assistant State Prosecutor and now Cebu City RTC Judge Claire Pagayanan.
