MANILA, Philippines - Relieved police Special Action Force chief Director Getulio Napeñas turned the tables on President Aquino yesterday, criticizing him for allowing Director General Alan Purisima, who was suspended at the time, to be part of the SAF operation in Maguindanao on Jan. 25.
Through his lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II, Napeñas also said he did not fool Aquino.
“Definitely, definitely, General Napeñas did not lie to the President,” Aguirre told The STAR.
“General Napeñas submitted his cellular phone to the CIDG for forensic analysis. In all 23 pages of transcript, there was no exchange of messages between General Napeñas and the President,” Aguirre said, referring to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
“Masakit para kay General Napeñas na marining kay President na binola siya (It hurt General Napeñas to hear the President say he lied to him),” said Aquirre.
Napeñas had submitted his cellular phone to the CIDG two days after the Mamasapano carnage last Jan. 25.
Aguirre also asked why Aquino did not mention the participation of Purisima in the operation to arrest Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his Filipino cohort Basit Usman in the SAF operation in Mamasapano in the President’s remarks during a prayer meeting in Malacañang on Monday.
Aguirre questioned Aquino for blaming Napeñas for not coordinating with PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and the military in conducting the operation that resulted in the death of 44 SAF commandos.
The raiding team killed Marwan while Usman escaped.
The SAF commandos later encountered members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters that resulted in the killing of the policemen, 18 rebels and several civilians.
“Bakit naging superior ni Gen. Napeñas si Gen. Purisima na noon ay suspended na. Sinabi ng Pangulo na inutusan niya si Gen. Napeñas na makipag-coordinate kay Gen. Espina at Sec. Roxas, bakit hindi siya ang nagpatawag sa dalawa na mas madali para sa kanya?” asked Aguirre during a television interview yesterday.
Aguirre noted the President’s statement on Monday did not mention the participation of Purisima in the SAF operation, despite the fact that he is serving a six-month suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Since Napeñas faced the media in Camp Crame on Feb. 4, he never entertained any media interview again and Aguirre said it was due to the instruction of some ranking officials in the PNP to refrain from talking to the media until the Board of Inquiry (BOI) completed its investigation.
He said that it is hard to believe that a general of a police unit would not follow the orders of the President. He also asked why a suspended official would be put in charge of a sensitive operation.
During a Senate inquiry on the Mamasapano incident, Napeñas claimed that Purisima specifically told him not to tell Espina and Roxas.
Napeñas told the Senate public hearing that Purisima also told him that he would be the one to coordinate with the military.
Napeñas believed Purisima was taking orders directly from Aquino since the two met behind closed doors on Jan. 9 after Napeñas and intelligence director Sr. Supt. Fernando Mendez gave the President a briefing on the planned operation to arrest Marwan and Usman.