Senators begin Monday an inquiry into the bloody incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that has imperiled peace talks with Moro rebels and plunged the Aquino administration into its worst political crisis. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The top police officials involved in a covert operation to take down two terrorists in Maguindanao on Jan. 25 and their bosses whom they kept in the dark about the mission face each other in the Senate on Monday as senators begin an inquiry into the bloody incident that has imperiled peace talks with Moro rebels and plunged the Aquino administration into its worst political crisis.
As the investigation by the Senate peace and order committee starts, more questions about the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) operation arise, including what role the United States played in the mission that cost the lives of 44 police commandos, 18 Moro guerrillas and five civilians.
The primary target of the SAF operation, Malaysian-born terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” was killed by the commandos in their assault on his hideout in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province. But the secondary target, Filipino terrorist Basit Usman, escaped.
Resigned PNP Director General Alan Purisima, relieved SAF Director Getulio Napeñas, clash survivor PO2 Christopher Lalan, and Supt. Raymond Train, head of the 84th SAF Company that killed Marwan, have confirmed their attendance at Monday’s hearing, according to the office of Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the public order committee.
Also appearing at the inquiry are Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and the PNP officer in charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, who were not informed by Napeñas about the operation.
Nobody from MILF
Also expected to show up are Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin; Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles and chief government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.
No one from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has confirmed their appearance at the hearing, although the group’s chief peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, has been invited.
Aside from trying to determine what happened so that the operation ended up in a gun battle with guerrillas from the MILF and its splinter group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the senators are expected to press the police officials on the role of the United States in the SAF mission.
According to the latest report on the alleged participation of the United States, a US drone kept track of the SAF commandos as they went in to get Marwan. So far, the United States has said that it helped only in the retrieval of the bodies of the slain and wounded SAF troopers.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a former Navy officer, said US assistance in the fight against terrorism was not something to be rejected.
“US support is essential in our fight against terrorism. So, on the assumption that the US assisted in the operation to get Marwan by providing geospatial [intelligence] or medical evacuations, we should welcome it,” Trillanes said in a text message.
Who allowed drone?
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said that theoretically speaking, a foreign power that wants to use a drone in Philippine airspace must get permission from Philippine authorities as a show of respect for the country’s territorial integrity.
Without that permission, the use of the drone could be interpreted as an invasion, Pimentel said in a phone interview.
He said he wanted to know who exactly could give permission on the use of foreign drones in the Philippines.
Pimentel said it was normal for countries to exchange intelligence information, and a foreign power could even provide advice on the soundness of a mission.
But involvement in an actual operation is a different matter, Pimentel said.
The sharing of information does not mean a foreign country can step in and do what it wants, he said.
Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, said over dzBB that the use of a US drone in the country was treading a “thin line.”
Lacson said using the drone to acquire intelligence information before an actual operation or tactical deployment could be allowed.
But using it during an actual operation should not be permitted, in respect for the Philippines’ territorial integrity.
Lacson said he believed using the drone to monitor an actual troop deployment, to determine whether reinforcements should be sent in, could be considered involvement in an actual operation.
“If we allow other countries to meddle in internal security or internal matters, no matter how powerful the country, where is our honor?” he said in the radio interview.
Aquino’s resignation
Pimentel, in a separate statement, called for calm amid calls for President Aquino to resign because of public dissatisfaction with his response to the Mamasapano debacle.
He said Aquino’s resignation would just create more problems.
“If any, the resignation of the President will only be counterproductive since this will lead to a shake-up in the government. In this highly volatile situation, we need a leader. We need the President to lead us out of these dark days,” Pimentel said.
The focus should be on finding out the truth behind the Mamasapano incident so that those responsible can be made to face justice, he said.
“The government is doing its best to get to the bottom of this. Let us give the government a chance to right the wrong,” he said.
Pimentel appealed to the public to support a pending bill to create a truth commission that would look into the Mamasapano clash. He is one of the resolution’s coauthors in the Senate.
Originally posted: 4:43 PM | Sunday, February 8th, 2015
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