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On the Facebook page of Showbiz Government, this photo of President Noynoy Aquino — along with former President Fidel Ramos, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Mar Roxas, and Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina — was posted with a scathing caption.
As of 10am on Tue, Feb 3, the photo has been shared over 1,200 times. There are no photo credits provided. The photo may have possibly also been posted on other social media sites.
The photo, as indicated in the post, was reportedly taken on Jan 30, the same day Aquino gave his eulogy for the 44 PNP Special Action Force (SAF) who perished in the clash involving the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Honestly, from the photo alone it does look like Aquino is smiling. However, he could also be grimacing. We just don’t know for sure. Then again, a lot of people have jumped ot the conclusion that he’s smiling. It may be time for the Palace people to stamp out this little fire.
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 Abdulbasit 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 doing currently probes on the Mamsapano encounter to determined what went wrong, as the incident threatens the Bangsamoro peace deal.
Photo: Showbiz Government Facebook page
