Lawmaker slams omission of SAF 44 from SONA

MANILA, Philippines - Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian expressed surprise over President Aquino’s omission of the Jan. 25 Mamasapano incident in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) despite the fact that the 44 slain Special Action Force (SAF) troopers died for the government’s anti-terrorism campaign.

“The President could have at least extolled the heroism of the 44 SAF commandos and promise the families of the slain troopers that they will be given justice before his term ends on June 30, 2016,” Gatchalian said.

He surmised that Aquino’s speech writers would not want to touch on the issue as this will again open him to attacks, especially since the Office of the Ombudsman absolved him of any responsibility from the carnage.

Because of the ombudsman resolution absolving Aquino, the lawmaker questioned the fairness of the Department of Justice when its probers included in the charge sheet Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian for “command responsibility” over the May 13 fire that left 72 people dead, mostly workers, in the Kentex slipper factory.

Rex is the younger brother of the lawmaker.

“If command responsibility is being applied to the case of Mayor Gatchalian, then it should also be applied to Aquino because of his active participation in the planning and monitoring of the Mamasapano operation,” he said.

Gatchalian said the only difference between the Kentex and Mamasapano cases was that the 72 fatalities in the Kentex fire were victims of an accident while the 44 SAF policemen killed in Mamasapano were victims of poor planning approved by a suspended Philippine National Police chief and a hands-on commander-in-chief.