Sen. Panfilo Lacson (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Instead of finding fault, senators on Thursday hailed as “heroes” the 11 soldiers killed in the military airstrikes intended for Islamic militants in Marawi City. But they also urged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to be more cautious in launching such strikes.
“This is not the time to find fault on anyone, particularly those involved in the Marawi operations. On the contrary, this is the time to pray and honor all the heroes who lost their lives, no matter what caused their deaths,” Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said in a text message.
“Having said that, we should allow the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the defense establishment to accomplish their task, including the ongoing fact finding investigation being conducted,” Lacson added.
READ: 11 soldiers killed by ‘friendly fire’ in Marawi
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a constant critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, called the incident “tragic” and “unfortunate.”
“It is tragic and unfortunate that it came at a time that the AFP has almost won the war with the Mautes. Regardless of the circumstances of their deaths, they are heroes,” Trillanes, a former Navy officer, said in a statement.
“As to why this incident happened in the first place, I defer to the investigation of the AFP and hope that with it is an assurance that future mishaps like this would never happen again,” he said.
Senate President Aqulino “Koko” Pimentel III, meanwhile, saw the need for a review of the government’s policy on airstrikes to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
“These things happen in wartime kaya dapat nga nag-iingat,” Pimentel said in an interview at the Senate. “Ang tawag nga dyan, the military has invented the term friendly fire. Ang ibig sabihin nun your own men died from fire coming from his comrades, nagkamali po yun.”
“That’s why the military should really be reviewing their systems, strategies, their tactics plus the policy of airstrikes,” he added. “I-review po nila yan at huwag sila masyadong maniwala, naka-rely sa technology. Sabi nila ipasok lang daw yung coordinates dun na tatama yung bomba. You double check.”
“On paper that might be the way the bombs were marketed. But in reality, tama ba?” he went on. “So mag ingat po tayo. Huwag tayong masyadong maniwala on how the weapons were marketed.” /atm/rga