Binay extends cash aid to 15 SAF survivors

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay went to Camp Crame on Sunday to visit the wounded members of the Special Action Force (SAF) who survived the Jan. 25 bloodbath in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province.

With his daughter, Sen. Nancy Binay, and son Junjun, the Makati City mayor, Binay arrived at Philippine National Police General Hospital past noon and spent two hours there seeing each of the 15 SAF survivors. He handed out P100,000 in financial aid from the Makati government to each of them.

“I came here with my children to have lunch with our wounded SAF policemen and to try to console them,” Binay told reporters later. “They still vividly remember what happened to them.”

The Vice President declined to comment on the resignation of Director General Alan Purisima as PNP chief, announced on Friday by President Aquino.

Junjun Binay said it was decided to increase the financial assistance Makati extended to the SAF survivors from P50,000 to P100,000, the same amount given to the families of the 44 slain SAF troopers.

“Having learned that those who survived may no longer be able to go back to active duty because of their injuries, we have decided to raise the amount to P100,000. We hope it can help cover the family’s expenditures on their treatment and therapy,” the younger Binay said.

The city government has also extended its scholarship offer at the University of Makati to cover unmarried siblings of the slain SAF commandos. “We anticipate that they may have difficulty continuing their studies, now that their brother is no longer around to support them,” the mayor said.

Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., PNP spokesperson, said police units were continuing to pursue “without any letup” Basit Usman, the Filipino accomplice of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.” Initial DNA tests conducted by the FBI indicate that Marwan was killed in the Jan. 25 SAF operation.

Police units in Mindanao have likewise been put on alert against any retaliatory attack from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which joined Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces in fighting the SAF troopers in Mamasapano, he said.