Foreign experts to help probe Maguindanao massacre
CARMELA LAPENA, GMANews.TV
11/29/2009 | 08:07 PM
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Sunday sent two foreign experts to Mindanao to help in the investigation on the grisly massacre in Maguindanao province last Monday, which left at least 57 people dead, including women and journalists.
The two - Peruvian forensic expert Dr. Jose Pablo Baraybar and weapons expert Mr. Christopher Cobb-Smith - are part of the 16-member fact-finding team that will conduct a parallel investigation to validate official findings on the case, as mandated by the CHR Constitution.
CHR head Leila de Lima had earlier proposed for a creation of an independent body to probe the massacre, which was allegedly perpetrated by the powerful Ampatuan clan against their political rivals, the Mangudadatus.
“The outstanding characteristic of this proposed commission must be that it is independent and insulated from political coercion," De Lima said.
“Given the magnitude of the crime, we feel there’s a need to collaborate and coordinate with the executive department, particularly the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation," De Lima said at a press conference Saturday.
The massacre in Ampatuan town last November 23 sent shock waves not only locally but abroad, with international organizations including the United Nations and the European Union condemning it and urging the Philippine government to work for its speedy resolution.
Together with the group that flew to Cotabato City Sunday morning were lawyer Harry Roque, the chairperson of CenterLaw; local forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun; and De Lima.
Baraybar heads the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Peruano de Antropología Forense EPAF), which is one of several Latin American forensic teams that investigates the abuses of former regimes.
Smith, on the other hand, had conducted investigations into the deaths in 2000 of a BBC driver/fixer Abed Takkoush and in May 2003 of director and cameraman James Miller in Rafah, Gaza, among other high-profile human rights and humanitarian law violations, primarily in the Israeli Occupied Territories and those controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
“We want to see how we can help as an independent fact-finding body for proper identification of the bodies, and in gathering evidence for successful prosecution," said lawyer Romel Bagares of CenterLaw.
Sharing of information was agreed between the CenterLaw and the CHR, who is directing the independent investigation.
“We want to make sure all corners (of the investigation) have been covered, that’s why we tapped experts from the UN," said Bagares.
De Lima said the commission would share “expertise, information, witnesses and evidence, so we’ll be sure with the result." - KBK, GMANews.TV
The two - Peruvian forensic expert Dr. Jose Pablo Baraybar and weapons expert Mr. Christopher Cobb-Smith - are part of the 16-member fact-finding team that will conduct a parallel investigation to validate official findings on the case, as mandated by the CHR Constitution.
CHR head Leila de Lima had earlier proposed for a creation of an independent body to probe the massacre, which was allegedly perpetrated by the powerful Ampatuan clan against their political rivals, the Mangudadatus.
“The outstanding characteristic of this proposed commission must be that it is independent and insulated from political coercion," De Lima said.
“Given the magnitude of the crime, we feel there’s a need to collaborate and coordinate with the executive department, particularly the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation," De Lima said at a press conference Saturday.
The massacre in Ampatuan town last November 23 sent shock waves not only locally but abroad, with international organizations including the United Nations and the European Union condemning it and urging the Philippine government to work for its speedy resolution.
Together with the group that flew to Cotabato City Sunday morning were lawyer Harry Roque, the chairperson of CenterLaw; local forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun; and De Lima.
Baraybar heads the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Peruano de Antropología Forense EPAF), which is one of several Latin American forensic teams that investigates the abuses of former regimes.
Smith, on the other hand, had conducted investigations into the deaths in 2000 of a BBC driver/fixer Abed Takkoush and in May 2003 of director and cameraman James Miller in Rafah, Gaza, among other high-profile human rights and humanitarian law violations, primarily in the Israeli Occupied Territories and those controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
“We want to see how we can help as an independent fact-finding body for proper identification of the bodies, and in gathering evidence for successful prosecution," said lawyer Romel Bagares of CenterLaw.
Sharing of information was agreed between the CenterLaw and the CHR, who is directing the independent investigation.
“We want to make sure all corners (of the investigation) have been covered, that’s why we tapped experts from the UN," said Bagares.
De Lima said the commission would share “expertise, information, witnesses and evidence, so we’ll be sure with the result." - KBK, GMANews.TV
