President Benigno Aquino III. MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU
President Benigno Aquino III on Friday took exception to an Inquirer report that claimed he went to Zamboanga City on Jan. 25 to receive Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” dead or alive.
A top Palace official told the Inquirer that the President had disputed the allegation “a long time ago” and several times in the aftermath of the bungled police operation to capture the Malaysian-born Marwan, his compatriot Amin Baco and their Filipino associate Basit Usman.
“He has said so many times before why he flew to Zamboanga City. He went there because he wanted to look into the bombing incident himself,” the official said.
The President has a number of other arguments against the Inquirer report filed from Zamboanga City, the official said.
One of these was it did not make sense for the President to fly to Zamboanga City if indeed Marwan would be presented when he could go direct to Cotabato City, the official said.
READ: Sources say Aquino in Zamboanga for turnover of Marwan
But most of all, the official said, the President wanted to emphasize that he flew to Zamboanga City that day because his concern for the “safety of the civilians” in the city was “paramount,” following the car-bomb explosion on Jan. 23 that killed two people and injured dozens.
The al-Qaida linked terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was tagged as the one behind the blast, reportedly part of a planned jailbreak for its detained members.
In September 2013, members of the Moro National Liberation Front, disgruntled over peace talks between its rival, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the government, tried to take over Zamboanga City, but were repelled by government forces.
On Jan. 25, police and military officials gave the President a security briefing on the Abu Sayyaf threat.
He also met with Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, Budget Secretary Butch Abad and National Housing Authority Chair Chito Cruz for an update on the rehabilitation program for the city after the Zamboanga siege.
Climaco talks
In a phone interview on Friday, Climaco told the Inquirer that the President was focused on the details of the housing program for the residents displaced by the 2013 fighting.
READ: Zamboanga City mayor orders resumption of shelter construction for ‘siege’ victims
“The first thing he did when he arrived was to find out about the housing units,” Climaco said.
She said she was among those at the receiving end of the President’s displeasure after she failed to justify the number of houses that she was asking from the national government.
“He was upset that we couldn’t produce the data that he wanted. I, too, was confused,” Climaco said.
Climaco recalled hearing the President mention that it was the birthday of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, so he did not want to be hot-tempered that day.
Climaco said she, Soliman and Abad went out of the conference room to discuss among themselves the rehabilitation efforts in Zamboanga City and then returned to update the President.
Security situation
Climaco added that she knew that the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief, Maj. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, and Supt. Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City police chief, had prepared to brief the President about the security situation in the city.
After the briefings that lasted for about two hours, the President and his entourage proceeded to the blast site, the hospital to visit the injured, and to the wake of the two fatalities.
The President also inspected the city jail where the Abu Sayyaf members were detained and suggested improvements to the facility.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Soliman joined the President but rode in a separate vehicle.
It was when the group returned to Edwin Andrews Air Base that the group received a full briefing on the gun battle in Mamasapano.
The President left for Manila at around 8 p.m. after being dissuaded by Gazmin from flying to Cotabato City because the airport there was not equipped for night landing.
Late information
In the aftermath of Mamasapano, President Aquino admitted being told by former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima that there was an ongoing police operation in Mamasapano.
But Mr. Aquino stressed that he learned about the full extent of the incident only when he returned to Edwin Andrews Air Base in the afternoon of Jan. 25.
He also said that he learned late in the afternoon that the 84th Special Action Company Seaborne was pinned down in Mamasapano, prompting him to order the military to link up with the beleaguered commandos.
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