BOI lauded for doing job ‘without fear or favor’

By: Christine O. Avendaño, DJ Yap, Leila B. Salaverria, Marlon Ramos, Tarra Quismundo - 10 years ago

Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Serge Osmeña III and Sen. JV Ejercito. FILE PHOTOS

Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson on lauded the board of inquiry (BOI) for finishing their job “without fear or favor,” and despite their “being active police officers whose careers may suffer on account of their findings.”

Lacson was reacting to the recently released BOI report on the Mamasapano incident, which concluded that President Benigno Aquino III had violated the chain of command in the Philippine National Police in implementing “Oplan Exodus” that targeted known terrorists hiding in Maguindanao. The January 25 mission led to a clash with Moro rebels that resulted in the death of 44 police commandos.

“The BOI and all the people behind it must be commended by the Filipino people for their professionalism in doing a splendid job of coming out with the truth with utmost objectivity and personal conviction to finish their job to its logical conclusion, without fear or favor, and no matter who may be subjected to possible criminal and administrative investigation and prosecution,” Lacson said.

‘Cover-up’

But Sen. Serge Osmeña III described the report as “incomplete” and “a cover-up” because the President and top police and military officials were not interviewed and had refused to provide access to their cellular phones.

“For me, there appears to be a cover-up because President Aquino, resigned PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima, (and) Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang refused to appear at the BOI. Number two, they would not submit their cell phones so there was no forensic investigation,” Osmeña said in a phone interview.

“There are certainly missing information and that, to my mind, would be the probable reason the BOI report is incomplete,” Osmeña said, adding that “the BOI report should complement that of the Senate … because Catapang, (Lt. Gen. Rustico) Guerrero, and Purisima appeared in the legislative hearing. The two reports should be compared.”

Osmeña said he suspected that the military officers chose to face the senators because the latter were not that familiar with police and military operations so they could not ask the right questions.

For his part, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the BOI should be commended for doing their job well. “We must give credit to them because they did not think about politicking for their promotion. All they kept in mind was to bring out the truth. That’s why I salute them,” the senator said over dzRH, adding that the BOI findings did not deviate from what he had learned from the Senate hearings.

Sen. JV Ejercito said that President Aquino and sacked Special Action Force chief Getulio Napenas could no longer point to lack of coordination as the main culprit in the bloodbath as the report showed that they had violated the chain of command.

“(You) can’t expect proper coordination if you break the chain of command,” Ejercito said, reiterating his call for Mr. Aquino to take responsibility for the incident. The senator however stopped short of saying that the BOI findings could be grounds for impeachment, saying it was a legal matter.

‘Prejudgment’

Sen. Francis Escudero similarly evaded the question of impeachable offense, saying it could be deemed a prejudgment of a putative impeachment complaint.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said the BOI fndings confirmed his suspicion that Purisima was responsible for the tragic deaths of the Special Action Force (SAF) commandos.

“After reading all the annexes and the formal report, what was on my mind was confirmed; that suspended Director General Alan Purisima should be principally held accountable for the deaths of the 44 SAF troopers … He is the four-star head of the PNP. He supervised the operation from the very start. While it was true that he delegated it to Director Napeñas, the supervision and quality control remained with Purisima,” Roxas said.

In a press briefing after the formal turnover of the 128-page report to Roxas in simple rites led by PNP Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina and BOI head Director Benjamin Magalong, the Interior Secretary said Mr. Aquino should not be held accountable for the botched incident.

“The important thing is that we are doing the necessary steps (to correct the mistakes committed),” he added.

Grateful

In Baguio City, SAF widow Julie Cayang-o said she was grateful for the BOI’s conclusion that held Purisima as mainly responsible for the failed operation.

“Purisima is the one to blame, but we know that he is under [the] control of President Aquino. At least Purisima won’t be able to get away with any more excuses,” said the widow of PO1 Gringo Cayang-o, one of 13 SAF commandos from the Cordillera region.

“President Aquino should explain why he broke the chain of command, but ultimately he is not responsible for the Mamasapano debacle,” said Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the 75-member ad hoc committee on the proposed Basic Bangsamoro Law in the House of Representatives.

“As the head of government, he has the prerogative to make certain decisions in a legitimate arrest operation, (though) he has to explain why he made them,” Rodriguez said, adding that he believes Purisima and Napeñas, should face administrative charges for their actions.

Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said the BOI report was made by the PNP, which was under the executive branch and therefore, under the authority of Mr. Aquino. “It’s hard to imagine the PNP (placing) accountability (on) its Commander in Chief,” he said, adding that nonetheless, “President Aquino must be generally responsible for all the things that happen in his administration.”

Stop ‘blame game’

Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas said it was time to stop the “blame game,” and that Filipinos should instead “translate their grief on the Mamasapano tragedy into a firmer commitment to fight for peace in Mindanao.”

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima warned against speculations on the contents of the BOI report, saying certain “sectors” were bent in sowing conflict in the investigation.

“It’s not good [to talk about the contents] because it (will just) fuel speculations. And that’s what we have to avoid … Because instead of having closure on this issue, I think there are sectors who want to muddle it,” said the Department of Justice (DOJ) official who said she had yet to see and read the report.

Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, a member of the special DOJ-National Bureau of Investigation panel investigating the incident, said the BOI report would provide information on how the operation was planned and what happened on the ground during the incident. The special DOJ panel was tasked to collate reports from all agencies investigating the incident to find out who should be held criminally liable for the bloodbath.

US limited role

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said the BOI report essentially covered up Mr. Aquino’s “direct and command responsibilities.”

Zarate said the BOI report also belied the “outright interventionist lies” of the US Embassy in Manila, which claimed its personnel were not involved in the Mamasapano incident. While confirming the presence of US soldiers at the tactical command post, the BOI report said US intervention was limited to intelligence sharing and medical evacuation. With a report from Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon