MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Richard Gordon believes that charges can be refiled against the personalities involved in the Mamasapano antiterror operation that took the lives of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members and several Moro fighters.
Gordon, who had criticized the Sandiganbayan decision dismissing graft and usurpation raps against former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and former police Special Action Force Director Getulio Napeñas Jr., noted that the ruling passed with a narrow 3-2 vote.
“There is a chance. It was not dismissed with prejudice to refiling,” Gordon said over dwiZ.
If indeed cases would be refiled against Purisima, Napeñas, and even former President Benigno S. Aquino III as planned by relatives of the slain SAF operatives, the new case should be more carefully studied, he said.
“I don’t blame them, but I think they should be careful about the case they would file. The Sandiganbayan has made a decision. Maybe they could file a usurpation case again because I think the court made an error there,” he said.
According to him, it was clear to all that Purisima, who was suspended during the time of the Mamasapano operation, was still allowed to participate in the planning and implementation of the plan to arrest a terror suspect, Gordon said.
And when government troops clashed with Moro rebels and were being massacred, the government did not send help, he added.
As for a Senate probe on the issue, Gordon said he would consult his fellow senators on the reopening of the inquiry into the case. Whether there would be a hearing or not, he said he wanted to know why the government lost the case against Purisima and Napeñas.
“You have to put it in context. The government has lost so many cases, one after the other. Is it the lawyer or is it the case was fixed?” he said.
“We owe the people an explanation why the cases are dismissed because all cases are filed in the name of the people of the Philippines,” he added.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said the fate of the cases would depend on how the charges were laid out and prepared, and what kind of evidence was submitted.
Pimentel said the Senate could conduct an audit, not to overturn the court’s decision, but to know why the government has been losing cases. INQ