Senator Grace Poe. PRIB PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Senate’s public hearing on the Mamasapano massacre on Monday (Feb. 23) will delve into what President Benigno Aquino III knew and what he did as Commander in Chief to save troops battling for their lives against Moro rebels, according to Senator Grace Poe.
The chair of the committee on public order said resigned Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima would be made to disclose his exchange of text messages with Aquino about the operation to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” that led to the slaughter of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos.
Poe said Purisima could not invoke executive privilege to avoid questioning on his role in the botched operation in the marshland of Maguindanao province.
“We have not received any request from the President himself invoking that,” Poe said in an interview over radio dzBB.
Former PNP chief Alan Purisima INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
This is why Poe expects Purisima to read the SMS messages. “If not, we will see if we would need to compel him to read those,” she added, to complete the story.
Purisima earlier admitted he gave “advice” to the SAF commander, Director Getulio Napeñas, on the operation even though he was under preventive suspension on corruption charges at that time.
The Senate committee has conducted two public hearings and two executive sessions on the Jan. 25 operation that resulted in the slaughter of the commandos at the hands of combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) amid testimony that the military failed to act swiftly on SOS pleas.
Purisima earlier asked for time to seek the President’s permission before speaking on what they had discussed in relation to the operation to get Marwan.
“The people won’t be satisfied until they’ve learned what was in the heart of the President when he learned of what happened,” Poe said.
She also said the public should know what the officials relayed to the President, and whether his instructions were followed.
“You won’t be able to make a decision if you don’t know what’s really happening. Or if you made a decision, and if it’s wrong, that is based on whether you were given the complete picture or whether there was something hidden from you,” Poe said.
The mistakes in the operation, she said, appeared to be in the chain of command, communication and other strategies. She said she was not siding with anyone and believed everyone involved had a share in the operational lapses.
In running an organization, the one at the top gets employees to take care of things on the ground, but the leader cannot do the right thing if the information given to him is wrong or inadequate, according to Poe. Those who failed in their jobs must be relieved, she added.
She said the President could not be forced to appear in the Senate, as a matter of courtesy, although written questions could be given to him.
She said the Senate could fulfill its role of crafting legislation even if Mr. Aquino would not personally appear in the probe.
As to whether the President was among those who made a mistake, she said it would be better to listen to the testimonies.
Also invited to the hearing on Monday (Feb. 23) was Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to shed light on the Philippines’ agreements with other countries in anti-terror activities amid persistent reports that the United States had a direct hand in the Mamasapano mission.
Poe said she could not understand why, if the United States did provide help, this had to be kept hidden.
“If they are true in helping our country in these kinds of operation to go after a criminal, a terrorist, we shouldn’t be surprised if they’re providing assistance,” she said.
Another matter that Poe said should be looked into was the competition between the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as the rivalry between different units of the PNP.
She wants to know how interagency relations could be strengthened amid the culture of promotion and credit-grabbing. This, she said, has become an institutional and cultural problem.