Mamasapano backlash / Barangay, SK elections

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

In their quest to find justice,  another batch of relatives of the elite policemen who were killed in the bloody Mamasapano incident in January 2015 joined the criminal complaint against former president Benigno Aquino III, former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima, and former police Special Action Force director Getulio Napeñas.

This brings to eight the number of complainants in the 44 counts of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide charges lodged against the respondents.

The latest complainants are Telly Sumbilla, mother of Police Officer 3 John Lloyd Sumbilla; Helen Ramacula, mother of PO2 Rodel Ramacula; and Lorna Sagonoy, mother of PO1 Joseph Sagonoy.

They appeared before the Office of the Ombudsman Monday with the group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) to submit their affidavits.

        Erlinda Allaga, mother of PO3 Robert Allaga and Warlito Mejia, father of PO2 Ephraim Mejia, filed the charges early last month shortly after Aquino stepped down from office. The Allagas are from Ifugao.

Two weeks later, three more relatives – Julie Faustino Danao, mother of PO2 Walner Faustino Danao; CelestinoKiangan, father of PO2 Noble Sungay Kiangan; and Felecitas Nacino, mother of PO2 Nicky de Castro Nacino – joined the complaint.

The criminal charges accuse Aquino of implementing Oplan Exodus in January 2015 to neutralize terrorists Zulkifli Bin Hir alias “Marwan” and Ahmad AkmadBatabol alias “BasitUsman.”

        Purisima, although suspended at the time because of a different case, allegedly played a role in the operation and thus committed usurpation of authority.

Napeñas is charged for allegedly taking “unlawful” orders from Purisima, knowing fully that he was under suspension.Napenas ran for the Senate last elections but lost.

More than 60 people, including 44 SAF policemen, were killed in the firefight with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

The slain policemen were part of a SAF operation to capture Marwan and other terrorists hiding in a remote village in Mamasapano.

The police operation went awry after the SAF commandos figured in a firefight with Muslim rebels on their way out of the area. News reports earlier said the accused dilly dallied in taking action to stop the bloodbath resulting to the massacre of the SAF members.

When the dead soldiers were brought to Manila for burial in their provinces, Aquino didn’t meet the bodies of the slain and their relatives and instead attended the opening of a vehicle company.

Call it payback, but now that Pnoy is no longer president, his actions when he was in office will hound him.

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Here is an update on barangay and Sangguniang kabataan (SK) elections. Mankayan, Benguetlocal official AgostoPasian earlier texted us inquiring if elections will push through. So here goes also for our readers:   

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is pushing for the postponement of barangay and SK polls originally scheduled for October 2016, saying resetting the elections would be more prudent in sustaining government efforts to create real change and restore order in the country.

         Cayetano on Wednesday filed Senate Bill No. 1037, which seeks to reset the upcoming synchronized barangay and SK polls from October 31, 2016 to the last Monday of October 2018. It also seeks to extend the term of barangay and SK officials from three years to five years.

         The senator cited five key reasons for the need to reset the elections: 1) to sustain the momentum of their programs aligned with the administration's anti-drug campaign; 2) to enable barangay officials to fully support the war vs. crime and drugs;  3) to give the legislature ample time to improve the Local Government Code’s provisions on effective barangay governance; 4) to save government money, especially if a plebiscite for Federalism will also be held soon; and 5) to give the Comelec sufficient time to prepare.

Cayetano said moving the elections to a later date would allow barangay officials to focus on their role in helping sustain the momentum of the war against crime and illegal drugs that started during President Rodrigo Duterte's term. 

He said rushing the polls could undermine the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs, especially if barangay officials will claim political motivations whenever accused of illicit drug-related activities. He added standard prohibited activities during elections and election bans could hamper reforms being undertaken by the new administration.

Cayetano said Duterte’s strong policy against illegal drugs has done so much to pull down the country’s crime rate that it is more prudent to allow incumbent barangay officials to continue implementing projects or re-align them in accordance to the thrust of the new government.

Duterte had cited to start the anti-drug campaign in the barangays.Recent news reports also cited observations that the President's aggressive fight against illegal drugs resulted to a positive impact among local officials, with more officials now taking the initiative to inform law enforcers about drug activities in their barangays.

 Cayetanoalso explained postponement of the elections will give Congress sufficient time to study reforms that will strengthen governance in the 42,036 barangays around the country.

 "Postponing elections to take a closer look at how the Local Government Code can be amended in order to strengthen provisions concerning barangays with regard to term limits, benefits, training and funding, among others, would certainly be a wise move," he stressed, citing the similar case of the SK elections' postponement, which paved a way for the passage of an important legislation on SK reform.

Additionally, resetting the date of the elections would save the country billions of pesos that can instead be used for social services, Cayetanosaid. To save time and resources, the senator proposed barangay and SK polls could be held simultaneously with a possible plebiscite in preparation for the government's shift to Federalism in 2018 or 2019.