Purisima: I’m accountable

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino was virtually absolved of liability at the Senate yesterday as it wound down the inquiry into the Mamasapano encounter.

Resigned Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima and sacked Special Action Force (SAF) commander Director Getulio Napeñas were singled out as accountable for their alleged failure to coordinate their mission called Oplan Exodus with the military.

Under questioning, Purisima said “the responsibility, the accountability” for Exodus “rests with me.”

After more than 40 hours of open public hearing plus five executive sessions, there were questions on the level of authority given by Aquino to Purisima after Napeñas revealed that the President was regularly updated about the continuing operations against Marwan since last year, including two meetings in Malacañang.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II tossed the blame to Purisima, whose apparent move to proceed with the operation in a bid to regain the top police post caused the lives of 44 SAF policemen.

“I would consider the head of Oplan Exodus to be former Director General Purisima,” Gazmin said in response to the query of Sen. Loren Legarda, who asked top security officials on who was heading the operation plan.

Roxas, known to be not on good terms with Purisima, also said the resigned police chief was accountable for the fiasco. “I wish to add that precisely, whether it is advise or order, there was an overt attempt or effort to keep it from the OIC PNP and the secretary of the DILG,” Roxas said, referring to PNP officer in charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. earlier said the military cannot pinpoint responsibility as there was a “lot of confusion” as to how the mission was initiated.

“The PNP, among the powers of the chief PNP, has the delegation of authority to subordinate,” Purisima explained.

“The responsibility, the accountability of Oplan Exodus rests with me because I have delegated that authority to the director of SAF. But the planning and control of the operations was delegated to PNP SAF but the accountability rests with me,” Purisima said.

Asked to react on Purisima’s statement, Napeñas said he was responsible for carrying out the mission.

However, Napeñas maintained the plan all started when Purisima gave him the intelligence packet on the target, Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, one Sunday evening in November.

“From there, my understanding is that there is urgency to do the operations. After preparing the oplan, we had it approved by chief PNP Purisima who was still not yet suspended,” Napeñas said.

It all emanated from Purisima, he added.

When asked if President Aquino had any directive to coordinate with the Armed Forces, Napeñas said there was an order to undertake coordination with the military during their Jan. 9 meeting.

“I wish I was given the authority,” he said, adding Purisima told him sternly not to inform Espina and Roxas about the covert operations.

Purisima also assured him that he would be the one to tell Catapang about the operations, Napeñas added.

Lack of coordination

Senators also said lack of coordination among the operating units and the slow-paced implementation of the ceasefire mechanism on the peace process between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resulted in the delay of reinforcements for the besieged SAF troopers.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pointed out the protocols on the ceasefire process delayed the much-needed deployment of reinforcements to the members of the SAF’s 84th Seaborne assault team and the 55th Special Action Company.

About nine SAF men were killed from the 84th Seaborne while the rest of the 44 slain police commandos came from the 55th SAC. Only PO2 Christopher Lalan survived from the 55th SAC that acted as blocking force for the assault team.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said it has been established during the public hearings that Purisima and Napeñas failed to properly update President Aquino.

“I don’t think there is anything more to explain. It is clear that the President gave specific instructions, which if followed, maybe this unfortunate incident would not have happened,” Drilon said.

He said Purisima should be slapped for usurpation of public functions after he pursued the mission while under suspension.

“It was Purisima who had the intel package and he is the one who reported to the President,” Drilon noted.

Purisima owned up to accountability during the Senate inquiry, but he also stressed that he had delegated to Napeñas the authority over the oplan after he was suspended last December.

Purisima later admitted that he informed the President about the Mamasapano operation at 5:45 a.m. on Jan. 25, and updating him that the Army’s 6th Infantry Division had sent tanks and artillery to reinforce the 55th SAC.

Napeñas maintained he received orders from Purisima and that the latter constantly coordinated efforts with the AFP and the military during the operation itself.

The President’s allies at the Senate stepped back on reports that Aquino had a direct hand in the operations, which also revealed the involvement of the US government as testified by Napeñas, both during open hearings and closed door sessions.

They also steered clear of reports that Aquino had actually set up a war room in Zamboanga City after he and his top security officials got word about the besieged SAF policemen fighting a large rebel force.

Sen. Grace Poe, who led the Senate investigation into the incident, pointed to the lapses in the operation as reason for the setback.

“In closing, these hearings have necessarily focused on the undeniable lapses in the conduct of operations leading to 44 deaths of the PNP-SAF. It appears that the operation was poorly planned from the start and to make matters worse, there was an undeniable breakdown of both leadership and command and control in the PNP,” she added.

Poe referred to the alleged breakdown in the leadership of the police force, where Purisima still supervised Oplan Exodus by dishing out orders to Napeñas and keeping Espina out of the loop.

The oplan’s secrecy limited the knowledge only to President Aquino, Purisima, Napeñas and the 392 SAF personnel who were deployed to the territory jointly controlled by the MILF, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and some private armed groups.

“Information about Operation Exodus was deliberately withheld from the secretary of the interior and local government and the officer-in-charge of the PNP. This was very clear. This is only the beginning of what could be further revealed later on,” Poe said.

Poe added that the PNP did not coordinate with military units in the area of operations until the SAF teams were already heavily engaged in firefights with hostile forces. “That is very clear,” she said in her closing statement at the hearing.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said Purisima could lose his retirement benefits if he is proven to have usurped authority as PNP chief while under suspension. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe