TUCP bucks calls for Aquino ouster

MANILA, Philippines —  Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines—Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) on Wednesday said it will not join or support calls or moves to oust President Benigno Aquino III from office.

Several groups have been calling for resignation of the president over the Mamasapano incident, which resulted in the deaths of 44 police commandos tasked to capture high-profile terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and his Filipino accomplice, Basit Usman.

TUCP-Nagkaisa, however, challenged the chief executive to accept and take command responsibility over the January 25 operations in Maguindanao.

"The nation expects the President to stand by the PNP-SAF (Philippine National Police-Special Action Force). The PNP-SAF deserve nothing less. The people expect him to lead from the front and receive our quiet gratitude in good times and be accountable when things go wrong," the group's spokesperson, Alan Tanjusay, said.

He said it is high time for Aquino to condemn the execution-style killing of the policemen.

"We need the President to exact accountability from the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) who are also Filipinos and who are not above our laws. We need the president to publicly require and demand the MILF leadership to surrender the MILF fighters who participated in the killings and handover suspected terrorist Basit Abdul Usman to the fold of the law," Tanjusay said.

Tanjusay also defended the President from criticisms, saying that political opportunists and perennial trouble makers are ganging up on him over the Mamasapano incident.

"Many of them are crying genuine tears and some are crying crocodile ones. We must be discerning. In the meantime, we must expect leadership from the top with the president leading from the front," he added.

Aquino should remain focused and find substantial solutions to concerns of the people such as the looming power crisis and mass transport problems, Tanjusay said.