At a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Usec. Abigail Valte also said Aquino is not being blinded by close ties with Purisima in assessing the January 25 carnage that left more than 60 people dead, including 44 elite police commandos.
“Nagiging objective naman ang Pangulo sa malalaking issues tulad nito,” Valte told reporters when asked if the President’s friendship with Purisima is affecting the way he looks at the bloody incident.
The Palace official also assured the public that Purisima will not be treated with kid gloves when Malacañang reviews the PNP Board of Inquiry (BOI) report on the Mamasapano mission.
“Lagi naman pong malinaw ang Pangulo. Doon po tayo pumunta kung saan tayo dadalhin ng ebidensya. So far, wala naman po tayong nakikita na iilagan dahil lang po sa sinasabi ng iba,” Valte said.
Earlier in the day, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said Purisima has the primary liability for the botched police operation, which the former PNP chief supervised despite being under suspension due to graft charges.
Purisima’s role
President Aquino, however, has yet to make any categorical pronouncement about Purisima’s accountability for the Mamasapano fiasco.
When he first faced the nation about the incident, Aquino admitted that he tapped Purisima – then under suspension – to explain the “intricacies” of the mission as the police official is “very knowledgeable” about it.
In another speech before announcing that he was accepting Purisima’s resignation as PNP chief, the President recalled his longtime friendship with Purisima.
Last Monday, Aquino blamed relieved PNP Special Action Force head Director Getulio Napeñas Jr. for the botched anti-terror mission, saying the ex-SAF chief fooled and disobeyed him.
Aquino barely mentioned Purisima when he narrated events related to the bloody incident in Maguindanao.
Forty-four SAF members were killed when the operation ended in a clash with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The clash occurred despite the peace agreement signed by the government with the MILF in March last year.
According to the MILF, five civilians and 18 of its men were killed in the Mamasapano clash, and that its fighters battled with the police as an “act of self-defense.” — LBG, GMA News
