Mamasapano probe exposes Aquino as US puppet–Anakbayan

A militant youth group on Thursday said the reopening of the Senate inquiry on the ill-fated Mamasapano operation yesterday exposed President Benigno Aquino III as a “puppet” of the United States.

“It has been established that the bloody offensive was a US-backed operation and that US agents, possibly from the notorious Central Intelligence Agency, were directly involved. No less than the puppet President Aquino was tapped to direct the operation,” Anakbayan Chair Vencer Crisostomo said in a statement.

“To please his master, the obedient puppet secretly implemented an illegal offensive, tapped a suspended official to monitor it for him, broke the chain of command and the ceasefire agreement with the Bangsamoro which led to the death of more than 60 Filipinos, 44 of which his own government’s police operatives,” he added, noting that the President should be prosecuted for the “blood” in his hands.

Crisostomo said the botched police operation that left 44 Special Action Force men and several others dead in the hunt for international terrorist Zlukifi bin Hir alias Marwan was a “clear violation of sovereignty and laws” due to the supposed involvement of American forces.

“The US government and the operatives who implemented the offensive should likewise be held responsible … Immediately, all US operations in the country should be stopped, most especially the Enhanced Defense Agreement (Edca) which is set to allow more US troops in the country and US bases to be built,” he said.

Crisostomo said representatives of the United States should be summoned by the Philippine Congress to determine the “role and extent of the US intervention” in the bloody clash.

“We cannot have more bloody offensives and killings to happen, and more lives to be sacrificed in the altar of US terror war,” he said.

In the Senate probe’s reopening on Wednesday, former SAF chief Getulio Napeñas said the US government, through the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTFP), aided the SAF in terms of “real-time intelligence support, training equipment, and humanitarian support through medical evaluation and investigation.” RC