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This is someone who’s had enough.
“On Wednesday afternoon, March 11, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello was supposed to deliver a privilege speech on his withdrawal of support for President Aquino, but his speech will not be entered in the congressional records because he was not able to read it on the floor,” report DJ Yap, Christine O. Avendaño, and Gil C. Cabacungan in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report explained that “Sulu Rep. Tupay Loong called for the adjournment just minutes after the session of the House of Representatives opened, citing a lack of quorum.”
Nevertheless, Bello seemed to just shrug it off.
According to the report, Bello decided to cut his ties with the administration he and his party-list group helped bring to power in 2010 because, for one, he was “floored by the President’s speech on Monday in which he placed all the blame for the failed mission on sacked Special Action Force (SAF) chief Getulio Napeñas while exonerating and defending himself and Purisima from possible findings of guilt and responsibility by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Board of Inquiry.”
In his undelivered speech, Bello had written: “It seems that the President’s idea of an ally is someone who follows Malacañang’s line without question and without hesitation. It seems that an ally raising legitimate questions and criticisms is seen as sleeping with the enemy.”
He added: “The President, unfortunately, has a problem listening to people. When it comes to constructive criticisms and suggestions, he is tone-deaf.”
The report noted: “Bello reckoned that the President made an “already tragic event” worse by avoiding questions on his responsibility for the death of 44 SAF commandos while being more interested ‘in expressing his regret at the resignation of Director General Alan Purisima as PNP Chief than getting at the truth.”
Bello will vacate his post on Mar 19, a day after Congress adjourned for its annual summer break. Akbayan’s third nominee, Angie Ludovice Katoh from Zamboanga province, will replace Bello. The other Akbayan representative is Atty. Ibarra Gutierrez III.
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.
