AFP: Outrage over Mamasapano clash won’t spark uprising

MANILA, Philippines - The military is confident that the outcry over the Mamasapano clash will not spark an anti-government uprising among soldiers.

Armed Forces spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said the Special Action Force (SAF) operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25 was legitimate, even as it involved matters without the knowledge of President Aquino, the commander-in-chief.

“It’s an operational matter and what the President did was not illegal. The operation was legal, it’s the manner by which it was carried out,” Padilla said in an interview yesterday. 

“If you are the commander-in-chief you don’t go into details. You have the whole country’s problems at the back of your mind. You don’t go into tactical and operational matters,” he added.

Padilla noted that the President is more concerned with strategic or long-term issues like attaining peace and development.

Talk about supposed efforts to oust Aquino surfaced amid speculations that some officers are not satisfied with the way he handled issues surrounding the Mamasapano clash, which left 44 police commandos, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and seven civilians dead.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago claimed on Thursday that some groups are planning a coup against Aquino.  

“Leaders of certain alphabet soup acronyms who are familiar with the public had a recent meeting because they wanted to discuss how to stage a coup d’etat, who should be installed as president, and even their contributors were there,” Santiago said.

The senator declined to identify the individuals behind the destabilization plot but revealed that they are backed by a “very rich man… known to have funded similar coup d’etat attempts in the past.”

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV also claimed that various groups from the political opposition, the left, civil society and the Church are plotting to bring down the present administration, adding that these groups are organizing street rallies against the government.

While admitting that he received reports about a plan to topple the government, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin clarified that they are still being validated.

Planners of the coup plot include former government officials, Padilla noted, citing talks within military circles.

“I am not in possession of the reports that deal on this. However, talks within military circles say that a number of them served in previous administrations and pushed various reform agendas previously as cover for their efforts,” he said.

Padilla is optimistic that the destabilization plot against the administration would fail.

“We firmly believe all these efforts will fail because of the high degree of dedication and professionalism of our AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) today,” the military spokesman said.

“A majority of our citizens no longer buy these kinds of efforts and easily see through their real intent. All these are political in nature with an end view for 2016,” he added.

Padilla reiterated that the President still enjoys the support and loyalty of the military.

“Before, we were divided because there were many issues and concerns that can be used (by coup planners). Do we have these issues now? There is an absence of overwhelming issues that were present during the ’80s,” he added.

Amid coup rumors, the 18,000-strong National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) expressed yesterday full support for the leadership of Aquino.

NCRPO chief Director Carmelo Valmoria called on his five district directors and 38 station commanders to reject any attempts by politicians for them to withdraw support for the Aquino government.

Valmoria called on his men to continue fighting crime and not be swayed by their emotions, as he referred to the viral video footage of the brutal killing of one SAF trooper in the aftermath of the Mamasapano clash.

“Let us not be distracted by reports and video footage regarding the brutal death of the 44 SAF. Let us continue maintaining peace and order in Metro Manila so our fellow Filipinos could live peacefully,” Valmoria said in an interview.

He issued his directive amid revelations by Boy Saycon, secretary-general of the Council of Philippine Affairs (COPA), that a former Arroyo administration official is recruiting SAF members and encouraging them to withdraw their support for Aquino.

Saycon did not name the official concerned as he denied any role in the rumored destabilization plot.

“Many were reportedly inviting them… to withdraw their support. I told them to remain in the chain of command. Do not be enticed,” he said.

Valmoria denied that there is any recruitment in the NCRPO ranks. ”We have no intelligence report to that effect,” he said.

He added that there is no need for a loyalty check among his men, as they “should remain apolitical as mandated by the Constitution.”

Diversion

Meanwhile, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) interim president Toby Tiangco hit yesterday Trillanes for spreading coup rumors against the President to cover up his accountability for Mamasapano.

Tiangco said the senator is diverting the issue of government negligence and accountability in the Mamasapano incident.

“What he is doing is a diversionary tactic, putting blame on others, of organizing coups. He intends to bury the issue so the search for truth on what really happened in Mamasapano will be forgotten,” the Navotas lawmaker said in Filipino. 

“He is diverting the issue to cover up the obvious shortcoming of the government to help the SAF troopers. What is his intention except to cover up the negligence on the part of the commander-in-chief?” he added. – With Helen Flores, Non Alquitran