Ex-SAF chief: Troops vindicated but Aquino should trust his men
The Special Action Force troopers were “vindicated” as President Benigno Aquino III proved true their version of the killing of Malaysian terrorist Zulfikli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” following his earlier statement that there was an “alternative version” of what happened during the Mamasapano clash.
But for former SAF Director Getulio Napeñas, who led the planning of the operation, Aquino should not have questioned their efforts to begin with.
READ: Aquino puts an end to ‘baseless’ Mamasapano speculation
“[The] SAF troopers were vindicated. They deserve all the credit and honors,” Police Director Benjamin Magalong, chair of the Philippine National Police’s board of inquiry that came up with an investigation report on the Jan. 25 incident, said in a text message on Thursday.
Magalong, head of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, earlier vowed to resign if it would be proven that it wasn’t the SAF that executed Marwan, who was one of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted terrorists.
READ: BOI chair: SAF killed Marwan; I will quit if proven wrong
Like Magalong, Napeñas said the pronouncement had vindicated the SAF, but he added that the President should have trusted his troopers first.
“I have said before that I was sad about the news that the SAF’s efforts are being doubted. The Senate, the House of Representatives, the Department of Justice, and the PNP BOI, they have all those photos all along. Tapos naging gano’n pa ang pananaw ng ating Pangulo (And that had been the response of the President),” he said in an interview.
The retired police director has appealed to the investigating bodies to be “kind enough” to consider the SAF’s accomplishment instead of prosecuting the troopers. Some SAF officials and commanders, including a survivor of the clash, are being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman for grave misconduct and neglect of duty over the deadly incident.
“This is not just the accomplishment of SAF but of the whole country because Marwan is an international terrorist. We gave justice to those 200 people who died in the Bali (Indonesia) bombing,” Napeñas said.
For his part, SAF commander Police Director Moro Virgilio Lazo welcomed the President’s support for the police unit’s account of Marwan’s death during the high-risk operation in Maguindanao.
“We are happy. Our story has been proven (true),” Lazo said.
‘Noble intention’
Meanwhile, the PNP thanked Aquino for his “noble intention” in pursuing justice for the 44 SAF commandos who perished in the clash against armed guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
“The PNP pursues justice for our SAF heroes. We stand by our position that our SAF troopers killed Marwan in a law enforcement operation. We thank the President in his noble intention in seeking the truth and justice for our heroes,” PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor told the media.
In a five-minute speech in Malacañang, Aquino addressed claims that it was Marwan’s aide, not the SAF, who shot the terrorist to death before the troops entered his hut in Pembalkan Village.
According to Aquino, these allegations, which reportedly came from the MILF, were merely attempts to distort the SAF’s narration of the incident in order to get the reward for Marwan’s capture. The most wanted terrorist had a $5-million bounty on his head.
The President also said 90 individuals would be charged for the death of 35 members of the SAF’s 55th Special Action Company. Julliane Love de Jesus/RC
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