After intently listening to the reopening of the Mamasapano Senate hearing, I agree with Senator Grace Poe’s conclusion that nothing new was uncovered. However, this is not to say that it was a useless exercise. For a civilian with almost zero knowledge about military and police operations, the hearing confirmed (at least to me) important things, and some were noticeably kept as hush-hush as possible during earlier hearings.
One, Uncle Sam was involved in a major way. The former director of Special Action Force, Getulio Napeñas, said that it was the US military that trained them in preparation for Oplan Exodus aimed at getting Malaysian terrorists Marwan and Basit Usman.
The US was involved in the planning, preparation, and execution of the operation. In fact, it was the US forces that got Marwan’s finger for identification, not our police or military.
According to Napeñas, he was wondering why the SAF, and not the Armed Forces of the Philippines was given this assignment. Who assigned the SAF? This was not clearly answered because when Napeñas met with President Aquino (as arranged by then-suspended PNP Chief Alan Purisima), there was already a plan that he presented to PNoy. This means that there were already previous talks prior to the meeting.
When Senator Ralph Recto asked who chose the SAF for the mission, and how it came to happen that the US trained them, Napeñas, in a roundabout manner, said that this operation was part of efforts against international terrorism, which, to me indicated that the SAF was chosen by the Americans.
I will not be surprised if Oplan Exodus was in fact a US military operation that used our SAF and resulted in the massacre of SAF44.
Two, President Noynoy Aquino is not as blameless as he is made out to be. The President knew of the operation. I do not for one second think that PNoy’s meeting with Napeñas and Purisima was the first time that the President was informed of the mission. He is not only president, he is also the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces.
It is impossible to think that the president did not have prior knowledge of the whereabouts of terrorists as big as Usman and that the US will move without his knowledge. My guess is that the President and Purisima were both involved in the decision to launch the operation hatched by the Americans even before Napeñas came into the picture.
PNoy, as Napeñas claimed, made suggestions in the plan presented by the latter. As Senator Juan Ponce Enrile pointed out, PNoy compartmented the conduct of the mission and agreed with the “time on target” manner of releasing information about this oplan.
Very early on on the day of the operation, PNoy already knew that our SAF succeeded to get Marwan. Surely, the president was pleased. It is quite possible that he flew to Zamboanga to claim victory but was later on informed of the very bad news. That he went there with then Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is indicative of the importance of the trip. The Zamboanga bombing that happened sometime prior was a convenient but lame excuse.
The last Mamasapano hearing made us aware of the plethora of text messages exchanged between and among the PNP, AFP, and high government officials.Amazingly, there was almost no mention of phone calls made except by then PNP OIC Gen. Leonardo Espina. It is impossible, in fact, irresponsible, that under such a situation, everyone else would rely solely on SMS. Roxas mentioned that PNoy was getting information from various sources. It is reasonable to think that the President called people. It would be very interesting to know who the President was in touch with and what his orders were.
It puzzles me no end that we did not hear much about the President’s orders during the crucial hours. Or did I miss this part? Purisima reported to PNoy that the SAF was already being assisted by the AFP. Was that enough for PNoy? Who was calling the shots? Is not the president also the Commander-In-Chief?
The death of the SAF44 will forever be remembered as caused by a failed leadership. Ultimately, the buck stops with the President and Commander-in-Chief.
Three, Purisima was on top of the operations despite being suspended. That the President trusted Purisima cannot be questioned. I will not be surprised if he still does. The latter could easily have an appointment with the President. He brought Napeñas to PNoy. Napeñas reported to Purisima all throughout and it was Purisima who relayed information to PNoy. Purisima was the one dealing with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for a ceasefire despite being suspended.
While Napeñas was the implementor, Purisima was the key player in Oplan Exodus because the president trusted him. The fact that he was suspended was not a factor in PNoy’s decision to put him on top of the mission that killed SAF44. This further proves that this president operates based on friendship.
Four, both the SAF and the AFP betrayed SAF44. It was heartbreaking to know that the bigger number of SAF members stayed on the roadside and refused to enter the area where their comrades were being massacred. I can understand not wanting to put themselves in harm’s way but it is very sad to know that in battle, one cannot rely on comrades to help. Lives could have been saved. These men were their friends and comrades. They were virtually family. I agree with the AFP that this fact should also be looked into.
However, the AFP is also to blame. They became too rigid in their rules in terms of sending assistance. I wonder if there was nothing else the military could have done. Senator Enrile believed otherwise. They could have moved earlier and saved some of our men. The military dilly-dallied and when they helped, it was already too late.
The SAF44 were betrayed by their comrades.
Five, our military and civilian officers and officials are incapable of accepting responsibility for the tragedy. Finger-pointing is the game they all play now. Forty-four lives were lost but the way everyone involved speak, it is as if they all did as they were supposed to do and they cannot be blamed.
PNoy, Purisima, Napeñas, the AFP, the other SAF men in the operation, they were all responsible for the carnage that was SAF44.
Beyond them, I likewise put blame on Uncle Sam. The United States played us on this one and we paid dearly. We paid with the lives of SAF44. Never again.
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