ShareThisAll-out war vs MILF rebels backed, opposed
CEBU CITY (via PhilAmPress) — Vice President Jejomar Binay has rejected calls for President Benigno S. Aquino III to step down in the wake of the Mamasapano incident that killed 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) commandos on Jan. 25.
Calls for the President to resign mounted due to alleged cover-up on his role and his seeming slow response as well as those of his officials to support the SAF operations while they were being battered by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.
Calls for help reached the President by 5 a.m. to thereabouts but it took him and his officials several hours to mount a support and rescue campaign.
Also, relatives of the slain SAF men and people following the investigation on the slaughter of the commandos noted what appeared to be a weak operations plan and the participation of former PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima in the operations although he was already suspended at that time. Purisima had also instructed the PNP-SAF chief not to inform Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas and acting PNP chief Leonardo Espina about the operations before it was mounted.
”I don’t want the President to resign. You know, I’m the vice president. I will run for the presidency in 2016. Let us just wait,” Binay said in a statement in Cebu City.
VP Binay said he would pray for the President to overcome the problem brought about by the Mamasapano encounter that also killed 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and three civilians.
“I am hoping and praying that the President will overcome this problem very soon,” Binay said.
“I am praying hard so that the President can fully respond to the issues,” he added.
Retired Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has joined calls for President Aquino’s resignation following the Mamasapano clash between government forces and Muslim rebels.
Vidal, as chairman of the National Transformation Council (NTC), urged Aquino to step down from office and also called for reforms in the system of government.
“We, bishops of the Catholic and other Christian Churches, have often been asked if there is moral basis to this growing demand. Even long before the unfortunate events, the National Transformation Council has strongly articulated that the President step down. Recent developments have made the call even more urgent and imperative,” he said in a press conference Friday.
Vidal’s view was supported by Bishop Ramon Villena, Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, Archbishop Romulo dela Cruz, Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla and Bishop Filomeno Bactol.
Former Senator Francisco Kit Tatad and former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales also gave their support on the matter.
Malacañang said it respects “contrary views” but maintained the President is committed to finish his term.
“While we respect contrary views, we affirm the President’s firm commitment to fulfill his sworn duty until the completion of his term of office,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a text message.
Meanwhile, the NTC clarified that they are not planning to be part of the alleged coup d’etat brewing against the President.
The NTC said they only encourage the public to stand united for change.
Malacañang downplayed anew calls by some groups for President Aquino to resign from office following the Jan. 25 Mamasapano, Maguindanao clash that killed 44 Special Action Force troopers.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that while the Palace will respect the sentiments of groups critical of Aquino, it will still wait for the Board of Inquiry findings on the Jan. 25 incident.
“I suppose all these are demonstrations of free expression, and it’s something that is respect(ed). Again, we are in the midst of several inquiries.
While we respect their choice to express themselves in those manners, we will wait for the results of the Board of Inquiry kasi dapat malaman ang katotohanan,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda’s statement was in response to a question regarding a group’s plan to hold protests on Feb 22. to call for Aquino’s resignation.
At least one group – EDSA dos bente dos Coalition – has threatened to stage protests starting Feb. 22.
It hinted at a “nationwide simultaneous event” involving motorcades and an “ecumenical Mass” in Metro Manila on that date.
The Jan. 25 incident had triggered an outpouring of sympathy from Filipinos for the slain 44 and their families. It also triggered outrage and calls for accountability.
Many groups suggest that an all-out war against the rebels be mounted by the combined military and police forces as a result of the “needless and merciless” ‘killing of the 44 PNP-SAF soldiers. Others like former President Fidel Ramos, however, stressed that war was not the answer to the centuries-old conflict with the Muslims in Mindanao.
The people’s anger was fanned further with the admission in a letter to the Senate by the MILF chairman Mohagher Iqbal that the MILF “a revolutionary organization” and will remain one until its peace agreement with the government is “fully implemented.”
The assertion was made in a letter of Iqbal to Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs which conducted the hearings, in which he informed her that he would appear only after they wrap up their probe into the deaths of 44 Special Action Force commandos, 18 MILF fighters and at least five civilians during the clash that broke out in the course of a mission to get wanted Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.”
“Please bear with us as we deal with the institution of the Senate for the first time,” Iqbal’s said in the letter as he added that, while the MILF “has accepted your invitation” to participate in the hearings, it “is a revolutionary organization.”
“While we have signed a peace agreement” to end 18 years of fighting with government, he said the pact is “still to be implented” and “until (it is) fully implemented,” they would remain a revolutionary organization.
Meanwhile, Binay reiterated he has yet to decide on who will be his runningmate in 2016.
“We are still considering all possibilities,” he said when asked if it is possible for him to run with former senator Panfilo Lacson, and even his possible contender, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II.
Other names mentioned as his possible runningmate include Pag-IBIG president and chief executive officer Darlene Marie Berberabe, Sens. Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares and Francis Escudero, and business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan.
“Anything is possible in politics,” he added in response to queries of a possible United Nationalist Alliance and Liberal Party coalition.
The Vice President, however, drew the line at being the candidate of the administration.
“I am the presidential candidate of the opposition,” he said.
During the Senate hearings, relieved SAF chief Napenas claimed that President Aquino III and resigned PNP chief Purisima had approved impliedly the Jan. 25 operations to get two wanted suspected terrorists in Mamapasano.
Appearing for the second straight day before a Senate hearing on the bloody incident, Napeñas said the President and Purisima’s silence during a mission update at the Palace grounds early January may be taken as an order to proceed with the operation, which resulted in the deaths of 44 PNP-SAF personnel. Purisima was suspended on December 8 and his role in the operations was questioned in the hearings.
Later, Napenas said that Mr. Aquino did not give a direct order or approval to the operations even as Napenas admitted that the President and Purisima had been constantly briefed on the developments.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima defended the President’s actions, saying he has not broken any law.
During the hearing, de Lima also said that MILF members are not exempt from criminal liability for harboring, aiding, and abetting a criminal being pursued by the police.
She said state operations, including the arrest of criminals on the authorities’ order of battle, are not stopped or suspended during the peace talks.
“If there was a direct order or approval of the President, there was none. That’s really the truth,” Napeñas told the Senate panel. “But then, the two occasions that we had a mission update, it could be implied or a tacit approval that the mission is a go.”
Napeñas conducted a mission update in December last year, and on January 9.
Asked by Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. if the silence was a form of consent, Napeñas said: “Yes, your honor.”
“Walang nakarating na guidance sa akin na hindi na dapat ituloy ang operation,” he added.
The relieved SAF commander said the separate mission updates only lasted for minutes.
Senate President Franklin Drilon then sought a clarification if the President told him to proceed.
To which, Napeñas replied: “There was no direct order to proceed… on that matter.”
“If there was a direct order from the President, that would be a very good opportunity for me but that will break the chain of command,” he said.
On the other hand, Marcos criticized Purisima, pointing out that the latter had been suspended when the mission updates were conducted.
“I was guiding them, your honor… for operation security purposes,” Purisima said.
During the mission update, the PNP chief reiterated that he only gave “advice” and not orders.
Negros Occidental Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer, chairperson of the House panel, said their inquiry will delve into the accounts of the incident to show how the police and the military coordinated, the observance of the chain of command, and ways to avoid future lapses in operations.
According to Prof. Rommel Banlaoi, a security analyst and executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, Marwan and Usman are behind the terrorist group the Khalifa Islamiya Mindanao or the Black Flag Movement which reportedly aligns itself with the ISIS.
Along with Marwan, who was said to have been killed in a police operation on Jan. 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, the suspects planned the bombing of the motorcade route of Pope Francis when the pontiff visited the Philippines in Jan. 15 to Jan. 19.
The report identified them as Mawiya, a Singaporean; Amin Baku, a Malaysian; and Abdul Basit Usman, a Filipino who also has links with the dreaded Jemaah Islamiya.
“A lot of terror plots in the southern Philippines, itong tatlong ito they were involved. Kasi they work together as a team because they believe in establishing an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia,” Banlaoi said.
Marwan, a Malaysian, was believed to be a member of the JI and was a suspect in the Bali bombing.
Amid public outcry over the Mamasapano incident, Binay said an all-out war must be avoided.
Binay also stressed that any peace agreement should be in consonance with existing laws, particularly the Constitution.
“I am hoping and praying that we can have lasting peace. Ang giyera, kailangan iwasan. Pagka-giyera, may namamatay. Pero, it must be peace with justice. Basta’t tama lang. At saka ‘yong magiging kasunduan ay in consonance with our laws, particularly the Constitution,” Binay said in an interview at the sidelines of the Pag-IBIG I Do, I Do mass wedding in Mandaue City.
The Vice President also reiterated his call to form an independent fact-finding commission to investigate the incident to dispel all doubts that the investigations are merely a “cover-up”.
“Ang dami-dami kasing mag-iimbestiga eh. Walo yata. Sana, ito sinasabi ko noon, sana magkaroon ng independent commission. Para walang suspetsa. Eh ngayon, habang nanonood ka, mayroon na ulit kanya-kanyang mga tingin na, ‘wow, hinaharang,’ ‘ayaw palabasin’,” he said.
Binay also rejected calls for President Benigno Aquino III to resign.
“Ayoko naman. You know, I am the vice president. Alam n’yo naman na magka-candidate ako [for presidency in 2016]. Let us just wait. I am hoping and praying that the President will overcome this problem very soon,” he said.
The Vice President also supported bids to raise the hazard pay of police officers in light of the incident, but said the decision is up to the President.
Binay handed P20,000 cash benefits from Pag-IBIG to the families of slain Special Action Force troopers PO1 Windel Candano and PO1 Romeo Cempron, both from Cebu, after the mass wedding.
The cash benefit came from the accumulated savings and dividends of the deceased in Pag-IBIG, along with their death benefits.
As chair of the government housing sector, Binay also said they are studying the possibility of providing housing and other benefits for families of the SAF members killed and injured in action.
The Makati City government has set aside P100,000 for families of the Fallen 44 which it will start distributing next week.
Last Sunday, the Vice President joined Makati Mayor Junjun Binay and Senator Nancy Binay in distributing P100,000 cash assistance to 15 SAF troopers wounded in the January 25 encounter.
The dependents of the Fallen 44 and the 15 survivors were also offered scholarships at the University of Makati (UMak).