Senate committee hearing on the Mamasapano incident. RAFFY LERMA
MANILA, Philippines — The spokesperson of the Liberal Party-led Daang Matuwid coalition on Wednesday belittled the ballyhooed reopening of the Senate inquiry into the Jan. 25, 2015 Mamasapano debacle, saying it was only a rehash of already-known information.
“Our question now is: Where are the explosive revelations that [Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile] repeatedly promised in the past few days?” said Barry Gutierrez, also an Akbayan representative.
“Nothing new came out that we didn’t know already from the previous hearings or read from earlier reports,” he said. “Even his line of questioning was forced.”
The LP standard bearer Mar Roxas, who was interior secretary at the time of the clash, appeared at the inquiry to field questions about the extent of his knowledge or lack of it. Roxas had been kept out of the loop from the counterterrorism operation.
At the hearing, he maintained that there was no order for government troops to stand down at the height of the execution of Operation Plan (Oplan) “Exodus” in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Roxas said President Aquino’s instruction was “to do everything” to assist the beleaguered Special Action Force commandos who were outnumbered by the combined armed Muslims in barangays Tukanalipao and Pidsanwadan in the town.
“The President ordered to do everything…if we have to fly aircraft or fire artillery,” Roxas said. “They (SAF commandos) should not be left there,” Roxas quoted the President as saying. SFM