The Palace said Sunday it will not interfere with the work of the Office of the Ombudsman after a group sought to file a homicide case against former President Benigno Aquino III over the Mamasapano incident in 2015.
“We do not interfere with the processes in other co-equal branches of the government as well as in constitutional bodies, Presidential Spokesman Panelo said in a radio interview.
He made the statement after the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reopen the case on the police operation in Maguindanao that left 60 people dead, including 44 commandos of the Special Action Force.
The ill-planned Mamasapano operation, also known as Oplan Exodus, was conducted to serve warrants on Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman.
Marwan was killed in the operation.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who used to lead the Criminal and Investigation and Detection Group, claimed that he and the VACC had new evidence to support the filing of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against Aquino, who is facing graft and usurpation of authority charges.
Charged with Aquino are former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and former PNP-SAF director Getulio Napeñas Jr.
Aquino claims the botched anti-terror mission was not his fault, pinning the blame on Napeñas who, he said, disobeyed orders to coordinate with the Army.
In September, the Supreme Court dumped a petition seeking to charge Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas with homicide over the Mamasapano incident.
The Office of the Solicitor General earlier asked the high court to reverse the Ombudsman’s resolution that dismissed the complaint against Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas.
