MANILA, Philippines – A former military chief turned lawmaker on Tuesday scored sacked Special Action Force (SAF) commander Getulio Napenas and resigned police chief Alan Purisima for disobeying President Benigno Aquino III’s instructions over the Mamasapano operation that resulted in the death of 44 police commandos.
But the current Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon was careful not to put the blame on President Aquino for authorizing Purisima to oversee the botched anti-terrorist raid despite the latter’s suspension by the Ombudsman over graft charges.
“We are expecting that sanctions pending the results of the investigation will be applied for any of the three offenses – direct subordination of the commander in chief, incompetence, and negligence. There is no place for incompetence,” Biazon said in a press conference.
The former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief cited the following revelations that shed light on the extent of the President’s hand in the botched operation – that the President instructed Purisima and Napenas to ensure coordination with the military, that the coordination should be made ahead of time, and that Purisima should inform police officer in charge Leonardo Espina of the plan.
The following details finally painted the whole picture amid speculations that the President knew of the operation but failed to do anything about it. The exchange of text messages between Purisima and Aquino shown before the Senate probe revealed that Aquino was given wrong information about the operation while it was underway.
Biazon said Aquino’s instructions for “Oplan Exodus” – meant to take down two terrorists allegedly coddled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) despite a peace deal in place – were obviously not followed by Purisima and Napenas
Reinforcements came in way too late because of lack of coordination with the military, and even Espina came to know of the operation after it was launched.
“All three had not been done… If this is not disobedience, what else?” Biazon said.
Purisima even “advised” Napenas not to inform Espina and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and that he should be the one to inform military chief Gregorio Pio Catapang, despite Aquino instructions to do otherwise, Biazon said.
“This disobedience to the instruction of the President constitutes an act of insubordination. If the investigation would show culpability such as insubordination, negligence whether criminal or administrative, or incompetence, that may go all the way up to the top, the commander-in-chief, to institute disciplinary action that might include anything from administrative to criminal sanctions,” Biazon said.
But the lawmaker allied with Aquino’s Liberal Party begged off from commenting whether or not Aquino should be made accountable for authorizing Purisima about the covert operation despite his suspension for graft by the Ombudsman.
Biazon also said Purisima was not in a position to command but he may give “advice” since he had firsthand knowledge about the operation.
“These questions have not been answered definitely. Any questions you ask now, our answer can only be speculative,” Biazon said.
“(But) the area of competence of Purisima is related to the task to be done. Purisima was not put in a position to command. But I can ask advice from anybody, even someone convicted of anything,” he added.