A two-star general, Getulio Napenãs, argues in public and over national television with a four-star general, Gregorio Pio Catapang, over the details of a mission that apparently succeeded (their target was killed but his body was not taken) but later failed, after 44 elite commandos of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force (SAF) were killed in day-long battle with a vicious and determined to kill enemy on Jan. 25.
Such an altercation is a rare occurrence. It does not usually happen among security forces top brass. At least not a public spat. Not in Europe. Not in America. Not in much of Asia. Only in the Philippines.
The sacked chief of PNP SAF is Getulio Napeñas. He has the rank of director (the equivalent of a two-star general in the Armed Forces of the Philippines), in the 148,500-strong Philippine National Police. A 1982 graduate of the Philippine Military, Napeñas is very much a junior officer, by at least a year, compared to Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, 55, the four-star general who is the chief of staff of the 130,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines. Catapang is a PMA 1981 graduate.
Why would Catapang and Napeñas bicker in public? Ask President BS Aquino III.
The top generals and the finest men of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are all agog and going gaga trying to protect the commander-in-chief from calumny and ignominy. Napeñas has already agreed to be the fall guy for the botched top-secret commando operation. Catapang, meanwhile, is making claims like being unable to locate the SAF commandos at the crucial hours they were asking for reinforcements from the army—which is a big lie, for the army’s inability to give succor to the SAF commandos.
From their behavior, Napeñas and Catapang are under orders to save their boss, Aquino, from the worst crisis ever of his presidency. The crisis could lead to his ouster from Malacañang, the presidential palace, by forced resignation, by impeachment, by People Power, or by something violent, like a military coup.
Napeñas and Catapang want to extricate the boss from the depths of unpopularity after he was overwhelmed by a tsunami of outrage over his handling of Operation Wolverine or Operation Exodus, the project to arrest two of Southeast Asia’s top terrorists.
The two are Malaysian Zulkipli Bin Hir, alias Abu Marwan, and his Filipino cohort, Abdulbasit Usman. Marwan was a member of the central committee of the dreaded Jemaah Islamiyah responsible for the 2002 Bali, Indonesia bombing that killed 202 people. Usman, meanwhile, is linked to nine bombing incidents in Mindanao, including the 2002 General Santos bombing that killed 15 and wounded 60.
Aquino nurtured the Get Marwan project for nearly a year, together with his long-time bodyguard and shooting buddy, the disgraced (for corruption) and suspended chief of the Philippine National Police, General Alan Purisima.
After several aborted attempts, the mission was finally launched on the night of Jan. 24, a Saturday. A team of about 41 PNP SAF commandos (from the 84th SAF company) traversed a treacherous river in Barangay Tukanalipao in the town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao province to get to the house of Marwan.
After swimming for about seven hours, the commandos got their target, but Marwan fought back and according to TV reports, detonated bombs that killed nine of the commandos. They killed Marwan, cut off his left middle finger, and left his body behind as they retreated to their waiting comrades. The Filipino terrorist, Usman, who was in another hut, managed to escape with three of his men. The firefight alerted the muhajideens of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which easily assembled a fighting force of more than 1,000 men. They were joined in by their natural allies (their relatives by religion, mission, blood and by marriage), the fighters of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). In Maguindanao, MILF and BIFF are one and the same animal. Don’t be misled by their acronyms.
A separate SAF team (from the 55th SAF company) tried to clear the way for the retreating infiltration team of the 84th SAF. The 55th SAF was composed of about 36 men. Reports say 35 of the 36 died; one escaped to tell their story. By 5 p.m. of Sunday, Jan. 25, 44 men lay dead; a dozen other commandos were wounded.
Unseen and silent for four days, Aquino appeared on national television evening of Wednesday, Jan. 28. He did not claim ownership of Project Marwan but admitted having known about the mission since late last year. His alleged advice to the men involved since last year: Coordinate, coordinate, coordinate.
The admission of both Napeñas and Catapang – we did not coordinate. Why? Napeñas wanted total secrecy. Besides, in two previous attempts to get Marwan last year, Catapang’s Army apparently failed to cooperate. For his part, the AFP chief simply said “we failed to coordinate”. The effect of those admissions? Aquino will go scot-free. He cannot be prosecuted, he cannot be removed.
But you know – the SAF was originally designed to oust a sitting president, Ferdinand E. Marcos. SAF was the main force of then AFP Vice Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos, the SAF founder, when the beleaguered troops of Ramos and then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile decided to make their last stand, Sunday, Feb. 23, 1986 of the four-day People Power that ousted Marcos.
Later, Ramos used the SAF to protect another president, Corazon Aquino, Noynoy’s mother, from seven to nine coup attempts, against her.
SAF thus has turned full circle. What is its game this time?