MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino was informed of the suspicion of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) that the military was the source of leaks in previous SAF operations against Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.
But the President allegedly did not say a word in reaction to this information.
This was according to relieved SAF chief Director Getulio Napeñas in his sworn statement on the Jan. 25 Mamasapano, Maguindanao clash between SAF troopers and elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its breakaway faction, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). A PNP investigator took the statement. Forty-four SAF troopers died in the clash.
In his affidavit, Napeñas said that on Jan. 9, he, then suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima and Supt. Fernando Mendez, who heads the intelligence group, met with Aquino at Bahay Pangarap, to update the latter on Oplan Exodus targeting Marwan and his Filipino cohort Abdul Basit Usman.
A suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman against Purisima was already in effect at that time.
The PNP investigator asked Napeñas if Aquino approved Oplan Exodus.
Napeñas said it was Purisima “who earlier approved the plan,” but that the President “cited concerns about coordination with the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the number of personnel to participate in the operation.”
Asked what he told Aquino, the sacked SAF chief said: “What I stated to the President was this, ‘with all due respect sir, compromised po ang AFP. Planning and preparation stages during big operations are compromised.’ The director, IG (referring to Mendez) also expressed his deep concern whenever coordination with the AFP is being undertaken.”
Asked about the President’s reaction, he said: “The President made no comment.”
He told the PNP investigator that under Oplan Exodus, coordination with the AFP “will be time on target,” meaning it would be made once the operation against Marwan and Usman was underway.
Gripes vs Army
Before the Jan. 9 meeting, Napeñas said they met with Aquino on Dec. 6 or 7 at the PSG (Presidential Security Group) firing range to brief him on why previous operations had failed.
He said a mission to take down Marwan and Usman on April 25, 2014 “was aborted after the AFP withdrew its commitment to provide mechanized brigade units.”
“I duly informed the C,PNP (Purisima) verbally by phone stating the reason why the operation was aborted. The C,PNP told me that he will inform higher authorities regarding what happened,” he said.
He said another joint operation with the AFP was launched a month later, on May 30, but this too was called off “because of heavy armed groups activity in the target area” in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano.
He added that on June 30, the mechanized brigade of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao “conducted operations against Marwan and Usman at the same location without coordination with SAF, but they failed to neutralize Marwan and Usman.”
“This is the reason why in the other succeeding operations, the AFP was not included to avoid possibility that it would be compromised,” he stressed.
Asked why he thought the mission to take the two suspected terrorists was compromised whenever they coordinated with the AFP, Napeñas said: “The speculation is that the information and preparations are leaked whenever big operations against high value targets are conducted as the subjects are being coddled by the MILF, whose members have a lot of contacts in the AFP. The PNP intelligence group is very much concerned of the compromise whenever coordination is done with the AFP.”
He recalled that in November last year, the SAF tried to take down Marwan and Usman twice, but both missions failed – the first due to “equipment failure.”
The second operation “was launched using boats, but the assault force was engaged by a lawless group along the river going to the target in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” Napeñas said.
After that, he said they decided that they would carry out their mission “by foot.”
They did so on Jan. 25, finally taking down Marwan in his nipa hut in Barangay Pinsandawan but at the cost of 44 SAF lives. Usman escaped.
Let BOI finish probe
At Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the public should just wait for the Board of Inquiry to finish its investigation as “it’s part of the resolution that we hope for.”
Valte said they understand everyone cannot just “move on” because “we all want justice and we all want full accountability for this.”
Valte disclosed that during President Aquino’s meeting Wednesday night with the families of the SAF members killed in the Mamasapano operation, all parties “were able to have a frank discussion” on issues.
“It was another face-to-face with him. The President did not shy away from their questions…and suffice to say that the President was there, and that he was able to answer their questions personally,” Valte said.
“I understand that some of the families have chosen to make their discussions public. On our end, out of respect to the families who have chosen to keep quiet, we will also not divulge the details of the President’s private conversations with the rest of the families,” she said.
“But suffice it to say that the families themselves had an opportunity and took advantage of the opportunity to ask the President directly the pressing questions that they have on their minds,” she said.
Valte said Aquino’s accounts related to the incident was “just one part of the entire story” and the BOI result “is really the one that would have a wider view of everything – from testimonies, from the PNP, from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), from all the personalities at least, and forensics, etcetera.”
“So I would think that it’s really the results of the BOI that would give us the widest view possible of what transpired,” Valte said.
Valte noted the BOI itself had announced that it was 70 percent done with its work.
“Again, we’re a little wary of timetables because that might push them to just finish and not be thorough. But at this point, I can say that the BOI is cognizant of the urgency of the need for the results of their investigation,” Valte said.
She said she was not sure if the President had been asked to be part of the BOI investigation.
Expanding probe
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima, for her part, said they may expand the scope of their investigation to include questions on command or superior responsibility.
The DOJ is also looking into the Mamasapano incident through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and National Prosecutors’ Service (NPS). – With Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte-Felipe, Marvin Sy, Helen Flores