Four years after the gruesome clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, a widow of one of the slain men of Special Action Force 44 (SAF44) continues to cry for justice.
Liezel Inocencio, 37, wife of Senior Police Officer 1 Lover Inocencio, said that although she is slowly accepting the tragic fate of her husband, it still pains her to recall how he was brutally killed.
“The pain will always remain. What hurts the most was during that time, they were not rescued,” Inocencio told reporters on Friday morning right after the wreath-laying ceremony, in remembrance of the SAF44 enforcers at the Bantayog ng mga Bayan in the Police Regional Office 11 (PRO11) in Catitipan, Davao City.
The Mamasapano clash in 2015, was a police operation, codenamed Oplan Exodus, that brutally killed 44 SAF officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The operation was intended to capture wanted Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker Zulkifli Abdhir and other Malaysian terrorists or high-ranking members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
“Four years is long overdue for us. But I am still hoping that justice will be served for my husband,” she said.
Inocencio, who hails from Panabo City, Davao del Norte, said that she had already received the lifetime scholarship for her son, given by the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).
Liezel is currently a non-uniform personnel of the Panabo City Police Station. She was appointed in 2016.
PRO11 conducted a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the National Day of Remembrance for the fallen SAF44.
Police Chief Superintendent Marcelo C. Morales of the Police Regional Office 11 (PRO11), who was present during the ceremony, said that they are communicating with Inocencio, to address the help that her family needs.
“Right now, we are assisting her in processing her application for the housing grant the government will give for the SAF44 widows, through the National Housing Authority (NHA),” Morales said.
He said that he is one with the families of the fallen SAF enforcers in seeking justice.
