79% of Pinoys disagree with Aquino's SAF arrival honors snub

MANILA, Philippines - A huge majority of Filipinos believe that President Benigno Aquino III should have attended the arrival honors for the Special Action Force (SAF) troopers who were killed in the Mamasapano operation in January.

A new Pulse Asia survey showed that 79 percent of Filipinos disagree with the President's decision to skip the event in favor of the inauguration of an automotive plant in Laguna.

Pulse Asia said majority levels of disagreement with Aquino's decision were registered in every geographic area and socio-economic class (74 percent to 83 percent and 76 percent to 81 percent, respectively).

About the same percentages of Filipinos either agree with Aquino's decision (10 percent) or are undecided on the matter (11 percent).

According to the survey, 91 percent of Filipinos were aware of Aquino's absence during the arrival honors for the SAF troopers.

On January 29, Aquino was a no-show at the arrival honors held for 42 of the 44 fallen SAF members at the Villamor Air Base.

Instead, Aquino went ahead to the prior scheduled inauguration of the Mitsubishi Motors' plant in Santa Rosa City which was also attended by the Japanese ambassador to the Philippines.

Various sectors criticized Aquino, believing his absence at the arrival honors showed his lack of compassion for the families of the fallen SAF commandos.

After receiving flak, Aquino led the national day of mourning on January 30 when he met and condoled with the families of the slain policemen.