The mural in honor of the 44 fallen police officers was removed from a police institution and was transferred to the VP’s residence. FILE PHOTO/CLIFF NUNEZ

MANILA, Philippines — “The justice for the 44 will never be found.”

This somber statement was made by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla at the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Day of National Remembrance event, which honored the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos killed in a botched mission in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, 10 years ago.

“In their pursuit of their mission and their devotion as soldiers, they gave their service. They served their honor. But the question is: where is the justice?” Remulla said at the commemoration at the PNP Academy in Silang, Cavite on Saturday.

“We have forgotten who is accountable. We have forgotten who is responsible. And we will never find it,” Remulla said.

READ: Justice still elusive for SAF 44

On Jan. 25, 2015, PNP SAF commandos launched a mission in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province, to serve warrants against two bomb experts affiliated with a Southeast Asian militant group.

READ: SAF 44 and ‘Oplan Exodus’ in Mamasapano, Maguindanao

One of the militants opened fire on the commandos, alerting the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which led to a shootout.

Forty-four SAF commandos, 18 MILF members, and five BIFFs died during the clash.

To honor the 44 SAF commandos killed, Remulla called for a new “code of ethics, code of freedom, and code of service” for the PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The three bureaus are attached agencies of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“That is not important anymore. What matters most is how we move forward, where the PNP is now, where it was before, and how we will progress in the years ahead,” the DILG chief said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“What we will do is reform. What we will do is real change because that is what the sacrifice of the SAF 44 deserves,” Remulla added.

READ: New DILG chief Remulla to propose PNP ‘structural changes’

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Remulla previously pushed for “structural changes” within the national police force when he took office as DILG chief last October.

Unemployment among young people and college graduates jumped from 13.2% in June to 17.1% in Julysuperace88, as some 12 million students entered the labour market, before the August figure rose to its highest level since the National Bureau of Statistics decided to change the methodology to not include students in December 2023.