At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda maintained that both Purisima and Napeñas did not follow President Benigno Aquino III’s instructions to coordinate with concerned government units about the operation.
Lacierda said Purisima, who was suspended at the time of the operation, disobeyed Aquino’s instructions to inform police and military officials about the plan to arrest two high-profile terrorist targets in a rebel-controlled area in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
“Instructions were given to General Purisima to coordinate… There were instructions to coordinate with General [Leonardo] Espina. Those were instructions, very clear instructions coming from the President. Unfortunately, those instructions were not carried out or were not carried out time on target,” Aquino’s spokesman said.
He added that Purisima, Aquino’s longtime pal, did not provide accurate information to the President during the Mamasapano incident, particularly regarding the artillery support that was supposed to be provided to the PNP-SAF.
“Look at the text exchange between the President and General Purisima. Was he fully informed of the information? No, he wasn’t. Was he informed of the right information? No, he was not,” Lacierda said, referring to the record of text message exchanges between the two officials earlier submitted to the Senate, which investigated the incident.
‘Napeñas disobeyed PNoy’
Aquino’s spokesman also maintained that Napeñas should have coordinated with the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division, the first mechanized brigade, as well as joint ceasefire mechanisms of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“Were there clear instructions to coordinate? Yes, there were clear instructions to coordinate. In fact, there were instructions to coordinate with several key personalities, which were not observed by General Napeñas and General Purisima,” the Palace official said.
Lacierda nevertheless said that Malacañang will still wait for the recommendations of the PNP’s Board of Inquiry on who should be held liable for the botched operation.
He also remained firm against suggestions for Aquino to apologize for the Mamasapano incident, saying that the President dealt with the mission at the policy level and not at the operational level.
On January 25, 44 PNP-SAF officers were killed in a firefight with the MILF and its breakaway group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The clash, which occurred despite a peace deal and a ceasefire agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF, erupted after the police commandos supposedly entered an MILF-controlled area to arrest Filipino bomb maker Abdulbasit Usman and Malaysian terrorist Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.
MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal earlier said the MILF members only defended themselves during the incident. Eighteen MILF fighters and three civilians were also killed in the clash.
Days after the bloody incident, Aquino admitted that he knew about the operation as he was being constantly updated about it. —KBK, GMA News
