Anticrime watchdog files case vs Purisima

An anticrime watchdog on Friday brought a criminal complaint against sacked Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima for the tragic antiterrorism operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, last year, which claimed the lives of 44 police commandos.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) filed a case for usurpation of authority in the Office of the Ombudsman against Purisima as defined under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code.

Dante Jimenez, VACC founding chair, said the case was prompted by the reopening of the Senate inquiry into the Mamasapano debacle on Jan. 27, which turned out to be just a replay of the previous Senate investigation headed by Sen. Grace Poe.

“This is a promise we made to the survivors and the families of the SAF commandos who were killed in Mamasapano,” he told reporters after filing the case. “Our quest for justice continues.”

Jimenez warned Mr. Aquino to expect legal woes once he steps down from Malacañang in June, saying the President was ultimately responsible for the bloodbath, which also sparked public outrage and derailed the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.