Video by Frances Mangosing/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The police commandos were “hesitant” to share complete information with the military regarding the operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that killed 44 elite cops and wounded 12 others, according to the report prepared by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“There was a lack of complete sharing of information. There was hesitancy in one group to disclose their gathered information,” AFP spokesman Colonel Restituto Padilla said in Filipino in a press briefing on Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo.
This will be part of the “chronology of events” prepared by the AFP that will be submitted to President Benigno Aquino III.
Fog of war
The military has been criticized for supposedly not responding immediately to the request for reinforcement when the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force clashed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
“You know, when there’s an encounter between two forces, there are a lot of unknowns. You don’t know the number of your enemies, how many are left in your group and who are there to help you. That is what we call the ‘fog of war.’ During that time, the fog of war was very thick,” Padilla said.
The AFP spokesperson emphasized that the military was able to give the necessary aid to the police officers.
“[As to] speculations, there was nothing that tried to prevent the Armed Forces from extending the needed help to our fallen brothers who were still fighting it out in the field. There’s a code between armed services that if your fellow uniformed serviceman calls for help you should do everything in your capacity to assist them so it’s not true that something stopped the Armed Forces,” Padilla said.
The military received the information past 6 a.m. and they were able to ready their forces but could not move because of lack of detailed information.
A source said that in Zamboanga, helicopters were even deployed for close air support but did not know where to send them.
Military armored vehicles were also targeted by the rebels as they tried to get near the clash site.
On January 25, members of the SAF were supposed to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah leader Sulkifi bin Hir alias Marwan and Filipino bomber Basit Usman. Circulating reports said that Marwan was killed in the clash but is still subject to DNA testing.
On Monday, the military said it has cleared its ground commanders of any culpability in delayed troop reinforcement.
A report submitted to AFP chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr. on Sunday night said the AFP was able to establish “that the Army had readily provided support by organizing quick reaction force composed of troops from different infantry units including aros assets of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade which were deployed for the extraction of wounded SAF personnel.”
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