THE purported death of Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI) operative Abdul Basit Usman, a cohort of Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, has spurred more questions from critics who could not believe two versions of his killing on Sunday.
Mayor Midpantao Midtimbang of Guindulungan, Maguindanao, confirmed Usman’s death, along with Sr. Supt. Nickson Muksan, Maguindanao police commander, and Barangay Muti Chairman Gayak Midtimbang.
Muksan claimed that Usman’s body was taken by relatives and possibly buried since Islamic law requires that the dead be interred within 24 hours.
Other reports said the body was brought to a camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for documentation.
Questions swirled early Monday, with Bayan Muna lawmakers asking whether there was ironclad guarantee that Usman, indeed, was killed.
If Usman were indeed killed, the administration could use the incident to force members of the Lower House to support the enactment into law of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) that had been promised to the MILF by the government peace adviser Ging Deles and peace panel chief Miriam Coronel Ferrer, a lawmaker said.
However, only one thing is sure about the matter, stressed skeptics from the Bureau of Internal Revenue: “Once confirmed, the guys who did Usman in will get the bounty of $1 million from the US government, tax-free.”
As this developed, Malacañang officials are avoiding premature hoopla over reports that Usman had been killed by government troops.
Asked about government efforts to verify Usman’s identity through a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test, Palace Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said “due diligence” is being conducted.
“Magsasagawa po tayo ng due diligence hinggil diyan,” Coloma told Palace reporters. “Naaalala niyo na doon sa kaso ni Marwan, bagamat tiyak na tiyak na iyong mga PNP-SAF [Philippine National Police-Special Action Force] na talagang ang na-neutralize nila ay si Marwan, nag-extra step pa rin po na magkaroon ng DNA confirmation.”
Coloma assured that the government will take all steps necessary to ascertain the identity of the slain suspect.
Coloma, however, could not say if authorities cut any part of Usman’s body, as SAF commandos who killed Marwan did, cutting a finger for DNA testing, believed to be a condition for collecting the huge bounty offered for both Marwan and Usman. At least 44 SAF commandos, 18 Moro rebels and five civilians died in that January 25 encounter, now known as the Mamasapano Massacre.
Doubters
DOUBTING Thomases are aplenty as two different versions of the incident, one from the MILF and another from the Armed Forces, served to muddle the real story.
Militant legislators also called for scientific verification to make sure that the body shown in photos furnished by the military was really that of Usman, who originally hailed from another province.
As early as Monday morning, Malacañang confirmed Usman’s death and issued a statement saying that the killing of the wanted JI operative would be good for the peace process.
Among those who wanted a positive identification were Party-list Reps. Neri J. Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna.
Opponents of the passage of the BBL also expressed suspicion that Usman may already have been in the custody of some parties before he conveniently died in an encounter “to reduce the number of BBL opponents and pave the way for its enactment into law.”
Usman’s purported death came on the eve of the reopening of Congress, which will deliberate on the BBL, particularly on the many amendments that had been introduced after the Mamasapano incident.
Members of the independent bloc in Congress warned that the so-called death of Usman may be used to coerce the Lower House into approving the BBL quickly, to the point of neglecting to tackle constitutional and legal issues swamping the proposed law.
The first version of the incident was that Usman was killed in an encounter with the MILF at the border of the towns of Suindulungan and Datu Saudi at 11:30 a.m.
He was supposedly shot dead by men of a certain Commander Marlboro after he refused to surrender and his remains were brought to the MILF’s Camp Afgan in Barangay Muti in Guindulungan for documentation.
As of Sunday afternoon, MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the killing of Usman was not yet confirmed.
The second story about the killing came from the Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, who claimed that Usman was the victim of infighting, with Usman and five of his men being peppered with bullets.
He claimed that Usman’s followers had turned on him because of a $1-million bounty offered by the US, which was similar to the claim by police officers familiar with the botched January 25, 2015, operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that money flowed to MILF informants that turned Marwan in.
“The bodies were discovered by MILF,” he claimed, but this was vehemently rejected by the group, saying Catapang’s claim could be another form of psywar.
The third story came from the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief Maj. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, who said troops are scouring the Lanao provinces for the whereabouts of the wounded Usman.
(With Butch Fernandez and Rene Acosta)