ZAMBOANGA CITY – Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said on Sunday that President Aquino should be held accountable for the deaths of 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) during an operation to arrest suspected terrorist and bomb maker Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.
“No one else could have ordered the planning of the Mamasapano mission… only the President. And because of his doing, 44 (were) murdered and so I believe he is accountable,” said Marcos, a vice presidential candidate in the May elections, in a press briefing here Sunday.
“They did not do the coordination which they should have done and beyond that, he (President) was dependent upon General (Alan) Purisima who was suspended as PNP Chief and who should have not been in the command structure anymore. Marami talagang problema kaya naman naging ganyan ang resulta,” he added.
Marcos said Mr. Aquino deliberately isolated the Armed Forces of the Philippines in executing Oplan Exodus.
“Hindi sila sinama sa usapan, kaya nagkagulo-gulo, and the decision na hindi sila isama sa usapan was made by the President (…and the decision to exclude them from the preparation was made by the President). Clearly, he is the only one who can order that, and to bypass the PNP, bypass all the commands, the 6th Infantry Division, kaya with tragic results,” the senator added.
He added that he was “ashamed to say that this government, up to now, has not done anything to bring justice to the families of the 44 (SAF commandos).”
Marcos was here to attend a gathering of the Araneta clan, to which his wife Liza is a member. SFM