A wake in honor of the slain troopers is held in a military camp in Zamboanga City, where President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is scheduled to visit Saturday. The clash killed 54 people in all. (REUTERS/ERIK DE CASTRO)

Baguio City – The Senate committee on national defense will conduct an investigation on alleged operational lapses of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in their bid to crush the remaining members of the Abu Sayyaff bandits and other terrorists in Mindanao which led to heavy government casualties, the biggest so far to be inflicted against the government forces, Senator Rodolfo Biazon said Friday.

At the same time, the senator called on government to re-examine its position in the resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) so that it could gain the upper hand in the quest for lasting peace in the conflict-stricken Mindanao region.

According to Biazon, the Senate wants to ascertain whether or not the alleged shortage of ammunitions as earlier exposed by a ranking military official or the alleged misuse of intelligence funds resulted in the operational lapses that claimed the lives of 23 soldiers and the wounding of 20 others in the fierce firefight in Basilan.

He expressed disappointment with defense and military officials who snubbed previous Senate hearings on controversies surrounding the AFP but said he will make sure that the upper chamber of Congress will exercise all its powers to force the AFP to answer such lapses that resulted in the death of many soldiers in the battlefield.

Senator Biazon said the recent firefight in Basilan should be a wakeup call for the government peace panel to re-examine its position in the resumption of the peace process, taking into consideration the impact of the suspension of military operations by the AFP and the suspension of military action on the part of the MILF.

He said Malaysia should no longer act as the mediator in the resumption of peace talks because of the existing conflict between the Philippines and Malaysia over Sabah and some parts of the Spratly islands in the South China sea.

The military and government peace negotiators have a lot of explaining to do for the recent setback of the AFP in its bid to crush the terrorists in Mindanao, he said.

They must be able to satisfy the queries of the senators so that there will be no doubts on the capability of the military in curbing the old-age Mindanao conflict, Biazon said.

While the military was able to score heavily against the terrorists, the former AFP official said it is unforgivable for the military to commit serious lapses in intelligence and operational strategies with lives of the soldiers at stake.

Biazon said if the assessment of the suspension of military operations and suspension of military action will turn out to be disadvantageous, the government must already re-think its position on how to deal with the MILF to prevent a repeat of similar incidents which could compromise the country’s peace and order situation.