Kin grieve for fallen cops at necrological service. Relatives of the 44 slain PNP-SAF commandos killed in the January 25 Mamasapano clash attend the wake and necrological service at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Friday, January 30. President Benigno Aquino III offered his condolences to those left behind by the heroes. Danny Pata
Was some P300 million in discretionary presidential intelligence funds used for last week’s operation that killed 44 Special Action Force policemen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao?
Militant umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Sunday said President Benigno Aquino III has some explaining to do on the matter.
The group said the Mamasapano operation involving 392 SAF troopers would require funding and logistics, and that transporting SAF elements from different parts of the country alone would already require a considerable amount of money.
“If the operation was not run via the (Interior department) and the PNP, then someone else must have authorized the funding. The approval can only come from one other source, Malacañang. The funding could have come from the unaudited P300 million intelligence and confidential funds of the President. It would then be easy for Aquino to deny involvement,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.
“When the President has control of such unaudited funds, it is very easy for him to bypass other government agencies and embark on covert operations that can have disastrous consequences,” he added.
Reyes also said suspended Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima and the United States government should also be held accountable for the operation that led to 44 SAF men’s deaths.
Also killed in the operation were 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and seven civilians, who Bayan said included a seven-year-old girl.
“The top three most accountable for the Mamasapano carnage are Aquino, Purisima and the US government. They were the brains of the operations. They were the ones calling the shots. They were the ones who conspired to violate the chain of command and imperil the SAF troopers, the civilians and the peace talks,” Reyes said.
Moreover, he said Aquino is trying to appease public outrage by ordering the filing of charges against some MILF and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters commanders.
Yet, he said, this “does little to uncover the truth behind the Mamasapano operation.”
He accused Aquino of wanting the public to focus on just the MILF while trying to cover up his own participation in the Mamasapano operation, as well as that of Purisima and their “handlers from the US government.”
“What Aquino did – his conspiracy with the US and Purisima, and his violation of the chain of command – is a huge offense and is a ground for his removal from office. The first step towards justice is uncovering the truth about Aquino, Purisima and the US government,” he added. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
