[Reuters] The Philippine justice department will file criminal cases against 90 Islamist militants for the death of 35 police commandos during a deadly January battle.Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima said, “We will file charges against the 90 suspects of MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters [BIFF],” adding the cases were based on “findings and positive identification” by a witness.
She said some of the suspects belonged to a private armed group led by a political warlord who operates in the area and has links with militants.
The witness, identified only as “Marathon,” had named eight MILF field commanders and three from BIFF as having been involved in the killing of 35 members of the 55th Special Action Company, Ms. de Lima said. Only one member of the unit survived.
She said a 220-page investigation report, on which the cases are based, covers only the killing of 35 commandos in a known militant hideout in Mindanao. The justice department said a team of prosecutors and investigators has been given another two months to find out who killed the nine commandos, along with five civilians and 18 Muslim militants.
“We hope that [the MILF] would now give us access to the witnesses and families of civilian and rebel victims so we can file cases against those found responsible,” Ms. de Lima said.