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Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the sacrifices of the SAF 44 were not in vain because they led to the election of President Duterte.

In an event in Malacañang honoring the 44 Special Action Force policemen (SAF 44) slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao two years ago, Cayetano described the deaths of the SAF 44 as both sad and glorious.

Cayetano said it was sad that blood was shed, but he added that the incident was also glorious because it resulted in a president who understood the situation in Mindanao.

"It is also glorious because it has produced a man, President Rodrigo Duterte, that understands both peace and war, that understands the barrel of the gun, but also understands how to put together people in peace," Cayetano said.

Cayetano also criticized the housing units given to the families of the SAF 44. According to him, he received reports that the houses given were substandard.

The senator, who was one of the fiercest critics of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front during the Senate hearings into the Mamasapano incident, also said he is optimistic that families of the SAF 44 will get justice under Duterte, and that the President can bring peace to Mindanao.