FORMER Senator Juan Ponce Enrile on Tuesday accused the Office of the Ombudsman of protecting former President Benigno Aquino III by filing graft and corruption charges against two former police officials involved in the Mamasapano operation that resulted in the killing of 44 Special Action Force operatives in January 2015.
“What is the graft and corruption there? The Ombudsman did it to protect its boss [Aquino],” Enrile said.
Enrile said he was baffled why Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales filed economic crime charges against former Police Chief Alan Purisima and former Special Action Force Chief Getulio Napeñas.
“You know, there is an effort to protect the [former] President of the country,” Enrile said.
“He is no longer president. His immunity has been lifted because he can be challenged in court. The courts are open to him. What makes him so special?”
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II had earlier questioned Morales for absolving Aquino III of any culpability despite the findings of the two bodies investigating the Mamasapano operation.
The PNP Board of Inquiry and the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, then led by Senator Grace Poe, had found Aquino liable for the bungled operation.
Even after Aquino’s term ended in July 2016, Morales, who was appointed by Aquino, still had not filed any charges against him.
Enrile said he could send Aquino to jail for treason in connection with the murder of the police commandos butchered by the rebels from the MILF and BIFF if he was asked to be the lawyer for the government.
He said he believed Aquino would not be able to answer his questions if he took the witness stand. He said Aquino should be made accountable for the death of the SAF 44.
“He was in Zamboanga. He knew what was happening. He was still aboard the plane and they were already talking with [Interior Secretary Manuel] Roxas [II] and Defense Secretary [Voltaire] Gazmin. They were texting [suspended PNP Chief Alan] Purisima.
“Why did he not issue an order to help those beleaguered people?”