When the time comes for President Aquino to write his memoirs, perhaps he shall devote a chapter or two to the Mamasapano affair. In that autobiography, he may find it important to stress that decision-making is not simply choosing between blacks and whites. There are shades of grays, of greens, and of tangerines. The most challenging situations are filled with unpredictable variables and puzzling imponderables, of Catch 22, and absurdities, of paradoxes and incongruities. And many of these are not within his total control.
The Mamasapano massacre was full of questions that were left unanswered. The more the Palace tries to answer some now, more and more questions would crop up. And no answer is ever sufficient, much less acceptable. The people are very critical of the handling or mishandling of it all. Perhaps, it is very easy for us to criticize from where we are. But if we were the President, at those crucial hours, it must have been quite agonizing, to say the least, being caught in between the devil and the deep blue sea. It is not easy to be President.
Nevertheless, the people are angry and hungry for facts, for the unadulterated facts. They cannot wait for a Board of Inquiry or a Truth Commission. The police cannot investigate itself. Thus, this Board of Inquiry is an absurdity. The people want the truth now. There are far too many questions that must be answered. Is it true that the US was putting pressure on the president to catch Marvan, the so-called Osama Bin Laden of the southeast Asia? Why did the president opt to have a direct hand in the operation instead of following the chain of command? Why did he trust Purisima more than he relied on Secretary Roxas?
Why did he use the police and not the army or the marines? And why was his close friend Mar Roxas kept in the dark?. Was it out of care or due to lack of trust? Is Roxas good only for Yolanda rescue and rehab? And why did the president keep General Espina outside the loop? Is it true that Secretary Ging Deles prevented the president from sending reinforcement? If so, why was Deles more protective of the MILF than of our own troopers? Is peace so vital that lives should be offered in massacres and carnages?
Above all, why did the President agree to the so-called protocol that required our police forces to "coordinate" with the MILF, before entering any of their controlled territories ? Would such a scheme a blatant violation of our national sovereignty? Is it true that PNoy decided to breach that protocol because the Palace was aware that Marvan was being cuddled by the MILF, and that if ''coordination'' was going to be done, then the operations would be unduly compromised?
Well, we know that these are very difficult questions to answer. But, unless the president give the facts in their untarnished totality, the people will continue to haunt him. To tell or not to tell the truth - that could be the greatest dilemma. And the minute when he revels the truth could be his most crucial defining moment.