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Everyone thinks he’s the scapegoat.
“According to Atty. Vitaliano Aguirre, former Special Action Force (SAF) chief Police Director Getulio Napeñas Jr. has been ’emotional and depressed’ after President Benigno Aquino III publicly lambasted him for failing to call off the mission in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” reports Julliane Love De Jesus on Inquirer.net.
READ: PNoy blasts former SAF chief: ‘Maraming wishful thinking si Napeñas compared to reality’
Aguirre was quoted as saying in a phone interview with Inquirer.net, “He was emotional. All along he thought everything was OK (until the President spoke against him).”
Aguirre pointed out that his client is not denying his responsibility for the deadly incident. He said, “Being the commander, he took responsibility for the incident like a true gentleman.”
The lawyer likewise stated that “Napeñas expects the President and Director General Alan Purisima to own up to their mistakes.”
Aguirre then went on to say, “Who’s at fault here? Aquino inserted a suspended general to head a very sensitive mission like this. He gave power to Purisima despite his suspension.”
The encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan 25 left 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) dead. The PNP-SAF troopers had been out to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman. Both men had bounties on their heads placed by the U.S. government: US$5 million for Marwan and US$1 million for Usman.
The operation turned bloody when members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said they had to fight back because the PNP-SAF had breached their territory. They alleged that they had not been informed about the operation to get Marwan and Usman. The hostile encounter lasted 11 hours. The MILF lost 18 of their fighters.
Both the government and the MILF are currently doing probes on the Mamasapano encounter to determine what went wrong, as the incident threatens the Bangsamoro peace deal. It has since been revealed that the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and even some armed civilians were also involved in the clash.
