‘Alleged stand down order among unanswered questions in Mamasapano case’

There are still questions on the Mamasapano incident that remain unanswered. One of which is the stand down order preventing the immediate sending of support to the Special Action Force troopers, according to the lawyer of former SAF chief Getulio Napeñas.

“I am in favor of reopening because there is yet no closure of some aspects of the Mamasapano investigation. I am referring to the question as to why no artillery support was given to the beleaguered SAF troopers despite the latter’s request for it as early as before 8:00 am of Jan. 25, 2015,” lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre told INQUIRER.net on Wednesday.

“Was there a stand down order issued that prevented the sending of early and effective support to the SAF troopers?” he said.

On the first anniversary of the Mamasapano incident, the Senate will resume its investigation on the debacle that killed more than 60 Filipinos—including 44 elite policemen due to “possibly new evidence” from Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

READ: Enrile info prompts new Mamasapano inquiry

During the previous hearings, there were implications from the police officials’ statements that President Aquino ordered the stand down to the military to prevent them from sending much needed artillery support to the SAF commandos being pinned down in a cornfield at Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano.

The alleged order from the President was to protect the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whose members were among the suspects in the deaths of 44 SAF commandos.

“Likewise, those in the peace process should be investigated what they did to prevent the massacre of the SAF troopers,” said Aguirre.

The Philippine National Police welcomed the reopening of the investigation.

“It has always been the aim of the PNP to seek justice of our SAF heroes as well as the benefits for their families. We respect the move of Senator Enrile and we will fully cooperate with the investigation,” Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, PNP spokesperson, said in a press briefing.

READ: Mamasapano cases up for resolution

Mayor stressed that both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and PNP are professional organizations.

“As you can see, nandyan ‘yung mga (there had been) major events and we cooperate with each other,” he said.

But Mayor said the PNP and the AFP treat the incident as a lesson for future coordination. CDG

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