Trillanes to Napeñas: Be man enough to accept your mistake

Relieved PNP SAF Chief Supt. Getulio Napeñas. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines — Instead  of pointing blame to others, sacked Special Action Force (SAF) head Director  Getulio Napeñas should  be man enough to accept his fault on the  Mamasapano operation, Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV  said on Monday.

“For us, this is clear, being  a former military officer, when  you’re given a mission, and  you fail,  then you’re accountable for it. You can’t blame anyone,” Trillanes, a former  Navy officer, told reporters in an interview at the Senate.

“They are blaming  the  6th  Infantry Division  supposedly for not responding, that’s not true. Because  in the Oplan Exodus itself, I asked   Gen.  Napeñas, where  was  the 6th ID here? What’s  their  role? None. So  why will you blame  a unit which  was not in the plan.  You have decided to exclude them, then when you failed, you will blame them?”

I think at this point, Gen. Napeñas  should  man up and accept  that he made  a mistake.  He should ask for forgiveness to relatives  of his troops who were killed  because his plan was wrong, his judgment call was wrong  at that time of the fighting  that’s why he lost a lot  of his men,” said the senator.

Trillanes reiterated that  from a military or police operation  perspective,  a person who was given a mission should be responsible for it.

“You cannot blame others if you failed because if you succeeded, you’re the one to be given the medal,” he further said.

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