Ex-DILG chief: Mamasapano tragedy due to ‘failure of moral courage’

Former secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Rafael Alunan III.
YUJI VINCENT GONZALES/INQUIRER.net

A former secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said the botched Mamasapano operation which took the lives of 44 elite police commandos was a result of a failure of leadership and moral courage.

Rafael Alunan III, who is seeking a Senate post in the May presidential elections, said the bloody clash was a “tragedy” and an “open wound” that was still pestering the nation even a year after due to lack of responsibility.

“The principle of command responsibility was broken and not applied. There was no closure because the people know that truth is being suppressed. There’s clearly a lack of transparency,” Alunan said during the Pandesal Forum at Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City.

“Our instincts tell us that the truth is being hidden, that’s why there’s no closure,” he added.

Alunan agreed with the reopening of the Senate inquiry on Mamasapano, saying that President Benigno Aquino III must show up and disclose to the public what he really knew about the operation as the commander in chief.

READ: Intel aspect not fully explored in Mamasapano probe — expert

“No operation as sensitive as that can escape the commander in chief… Only the commander in chief can give the go signal, and he should not do that unless he fully understood what the operational plan was,” he said, highlighting the importance of rules of engagement and decision-making.

“From evidence gathered from previous probe and information coming from military circles, there was a failure to exercise leadership and moral courage to minimize casualties and make sure that those carrying out the mission will come back alive,” he added.

Alunan futher said that the reopening of the probe and Aquino’s presence in the Senate were necessary to “determine the kind of logic that ran through the minds of those in charge.”

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“The entire unit (of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force) was demoralized and it let down national morality and it points to one thing—the failure to make decisive action,” Alunan said.

“I think he (Aquino) should present himself to the Senate. Unless the President comes clean and tell everyone what he knew and humbly take responsibility for what happened, it will continue to wound the nation. The conversation about Mamasapano is not over… He has to disclose what he knew about that and why he did not take action,” he reiterated.

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the committee on public order, has ordered the reopening of the Mamasapano probe following Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s claim of a possibly new evidence. The Senate minority leader said Aquino was directly and actively involved in the operation and did not do anything to save the lives of the fallen policemen. RAM

READ: Enrile out to prove Aquino’s ‘direct’ involvement in Mamasapano