Mamasapano: Let the truth prevail

ON DISTANT SHORE

Finally, President Aquino did over the weekend what he should have done a year ago. After ignoring – and even doubting – the sacrifice of the 44 members of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force in the death of international terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015, the President finally honored the 44 SAF commandos who were mercilessly massacred by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels after successfully carrying out their mission of either capturing or eliminating Marwan.

Aquino presented posthumous Medal of Valor (MedalyangKagitingan) awards to two of the 44 and the PNP Distinguished Conduct Medal (Medalya ng Kabayanihan) to the 42 others who died in that tragic incident.

It was a 180-degree departure from the President’s stance regarding the bungled operation that eventually derailed the passage of his Mindanao peace initiative, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and dashed his hopes of winning the improbable Nobel Peace Prize, not to mention a big drop in his trust and approval ratings.

Prior to Monday’s commemoration of the Mamasapano clash, the President was not particularly supportive of the SAF 44 as shown by his actions following the incident. He skipped the arrival honors for the dead troopers in favor of a previously scheduled event at a car manufacturing plant in Paranaque. In his final State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) in July, Aquino boasted as one of his accomplishments the killing of Marwan but failed to mention SAF’s role in the operation.

In July, Aquino was reported to have ordered the removal of the mural depicting the heroism of the 44 commandos from the wall of the Philippine National Police Academy. And then in August, Malacanang reportedly ordered the removal of the names of one member of the SAF 44 and a Mamasapano survivor from the roster of recipients of the highest service medals of the PNP.

The moves were seen as an attempt by Malacanang to erase the memory of the bungled Mamasapano operation, although in my opinion, they were futile attempts by a vindictive leader to punish the SAF and its members for causing a serious dent on his leadership, credibility and integrity, not to mention the damage the incident caused on his Mindanao peace initiatives.
And then, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile decided it would be to the benefit of the country if the people knew the truth as to what really transpired in Mamasapano on that fateful day and to what extent Aquino was responsible for the death of the SAF 44.

We have no doubt that Enrile was out for revenge after he was jailed and humiliated for his alleged complicity in the billion-peso pork barrel scam or that politics could be a motive for reopening the Senate probe on Mamasapano. But still, the people and, more importantly, the families of the fallen heroes need to know the truth.

It was not the first time the senators felt the need to revisit Mamasapano. In September, long after the Senate investigative committee headed by now presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe had submitted its report finding the President “ultimately responsible” for the bungled operation and the massacre of the SAF 44 commandos, several senators, including Poe, said they would reopen the Senate investigation after Aquino hinted of an “alternative truth” on the Mamasapano incident.

In a talk with Inquirer editors in September last year, Aquino said he has been pondering on what he considered an “alternative truth” on the Mamasapano incident. He said there was an “alternative version of events that happened there, which is undergoing intense scrutiny” and that Malacanang was “looking for witnesses who will prove or disprove certain observations.”

Aquino was apparently referring to a report on the Mamasapano incident by the MILF that claimed, among other things, that Marwan was killed by one of his aides, and not by the SAF commandos.

That Aquino gave credence to MILF’s obviously biased report instead of relying on the official report of the PNP’s Board of Inquiry rubbed a few more salt to the injury that the relatives of the SAF 44 and the survivors of the debacle have had to endure since the tragic incident.

Director Benjamin Magalong, the former chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) who headed the board of inquiry that investigated the botched SAF operation, was incensed by Aquino’s giving credence to the MILF claim.

Magalong said that apart from being an attack on the PNP’s credibility, the claim that the SAF was not the killer of Marwan was an insult to the 44 police commandos who died in the daylong gun battle with Moro rebels, including fighters from the MILF.

The Board of Inquiry report said President Aquino gave the go-signal to arrest two terrorists and allowed then PNP chief Alan Purisima to participate in the plan despite his suspension. The report said Aquino also bypassed the police’s command structure when he directly dealt with former Special Action Force commander Getulio Napeñas instead of PNP officer-in-charge Leonardo Espina regarding the operation.

Faced with strong criticism, Aquino kept quiet again after that. His advisers probably reminded him that the sooner the people forget about the incident, the better for him.

After Enrile claimed in open plenary session that he had strong evidence to show that Aquino was “directly involved” and allowed 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos to be slaughtered, an unidentified police general was quoted by The Standard as saying that Aquino conspired with the military and ordered the Army to stand down so as not to jeopardize the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Later, presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he now knows more about the massacre after discussions with military officials who had knowledge of the debacle, revealing that the SAF 44 were “thrown into the lion’s lair” without the necessary wherewithal.

Retired Chief Supt. DiosdadoValeroso, meanwhile, claimed over the weekend that he had a digital audio recording of a supposed conversation between a “ranking government official” and a “lawmaker” who appeared to be talking about an alleged attempt to cover up the bloody clash “to avoid its possible effect on the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.”

After the Senate agreed to reopen the investigation amid claims by Enrile, Duterte and Valeroso, Malacanang decided to make that incredulous 180-degree turn. Suddenly, the 44 SAF commandos deserved recognition and their families various financial and other benefits. Such hypocrisy!

While obviously happy of the recognition and benefits, the widows and relatives of the fallen SAF 44 did not smile nor thanked Aquino. More than anything else, these people, just like the rest of us, want the truth.

The new Senate probe offers a welcome relief from the contentious campaign leading to the May presidential elections and, more importantly, gives us a glimpse of the truth oo what really happened in Mamasapano that fateful day one year ago.

(valabelgas@aol.com)