President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, before his departure for Vietnam. (Photo from an RTVM video)
President Rodrigo Duterte agrees with Sen. Antonio Trillanes’ misgivings about the filing of a usurpation of authority case against former President Benigno Aquino III over the botched Mamasaapano operation that killed 44 Special Action Forces police commandos.
According to Duterte, a lawyer by profession, a president has supervision and control over his subordinates and may overturn their decisions or decide to exercise the function himself.
“You cannot usurp what is inherently your duty,” he said in a press briefing before leaving for Vietnam, where he would attend the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in Da Nang City.
Earlier, Trillanes had said that it would set a bad precedent if the chief executive would be charged with criminal cases aring from police or military operations because all botched missions might be blamed on him.
Duterte said Trillanes, his constant critic, “has a good point there.”
The President earlier defended his predecessor after the Office of the Ombudsman found the latter liable for criminal negligence for the Mamasapano operation, which occurred on Jan. 25, 2015. Duterte said the cases were bound to fail.
The charges stemmed from Aquino’s decision to consult then suspended police chief Alan Purisima about the operation to arrest a terror suspect.
Duterte had said that Aquino, as commander in chief, could call on anyone to help fight illegal operations. /atm