Noy to face lawsuits over Mamasapano – UNA

MANILA, Philippines - United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) interim president Tobias Tiangco believes President Aquino will face lawsuits linked to the Mamasapano debacle after he steps down on June 30, 2016.

The Navotas lawmaker said Aquino would face suits for “unconstitutional acts he did in office like DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program) and his liability in the Mamasapano operation.”

Aquino  could not be sued while in office because the Constitution gives him immunity, he added.

Tiangco  said the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry (BOI) has found Aquino to have some liability for breaking the chain of command and approving the police mission that left 44 police commandos dead.

Aquino would do everything to ensure that his candidate for president in 2016 would win to protect himself from lawsuits, he added.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, UNA’s presidential candidate, has vowed to oppose anyone Aquino anoints.

 Duterte dissuades coup plotters

In Davao City, Mayor Rodolfo Duterte said a coup to oust Aquino would be disastrous for the country.

“I have never seen a situation where people talk openly about staging a coup,” he said.

Duterte said he had heard retired and active military and police officials propose a coup   following the debacle at Mamasapano that resulted in the slaughter of 44 police commandos.

“I warned them against a coup,” he said.

“I said the international community will never look kindly at a nation ruled by a military junta. We will become an international pariah.” Duterte said forcing Aquino to step down a few months away from the end of his six-year term will do more harm than good for the country.

“Some people may not be happy with the way the President explained his side on the Mamasapano disaster, but staging a coup will create more problems for the country,” he said.

Duterte also criticized groups and national political leaders calling for an all-out war in Mindanao.

“Do you know what war is?” he asked. “Do you really understand the meaning of war? I have seen the horrors of war with my own eyes. I carried in my arms the body of a nun whose brains were dripping out of her head in the Sasa (wharf) bombing in Davao City.”

Duterte said the worst victims of war are civilians caught in the crossfire.

“We have to talk even if it will take us 100 years,” he said.

“For after all of the killings and the bloodshed, conflicts are always settled in the peace table. Let me repeat what I said earlier: Let us rise above our national outrage and anger to find a way to resolve the conflict in our country through peaceful means.”

‘Arrest Aquino’

Members of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) called yesterday for the immediate arrest of Aquino.

They marched to Chino Roces (Mendiola), across Malacañang to press their demand.

KMU vice chairman Lito Ustarez said the PNP-Board of Inquiry (BOI) report showed that Aquino violated the chain of command when he ordered police to Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.

“The BOI report is very clear,” he said. “Aquino is responsible for the bloodbath in Mamasapano. No amount of lies coming from Aquino and his allies can change this fact.”

Ustarez said the content of the BOI report appeared to be the reason why Aquino told religious leaders last week that relieved Special Action Force (SAF) commander Getulio Napeñas had fooled him.

“Now it is clear why Aquino tried to fool the public again last March 9,” he said. “He had to go hard on Napeñas to try to counter the BOI report. It shows that Aquino is not concerned with truth and justice, only with his hold on power.”

Ustarez criticized Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for  claiming that the concept of chain of command does not apply to the relationship between Aquino and the PNP.

“De Lima, Lacierda and Aquino’s defenders are trying to promote an erroneous legal view in order to shield Aquino from any responsibility for the Mamasapano incident,” he said. “They are trying to cover up Aquino’s interference in and violation of the PNP chain of command.

“De Lima is upholding impunity for Aquino, not justice for those who died in Mamasapano. Filipinos cannot rely on this government to attain truth and justice for those who died because of orders from Aquino and the US government.” – With Edith Regalado, Mayen Jaymalin