'Time on target' coordination of SAF with AFP: Decisions and consequences

By ROUCHELLE R. DINGLASAN, GMA News

Published February 10, 2015 9:59pm

Former police Special Action Force (SAF) director Getulio Napeñas said on Tuesday his "time on target" coordination with the military involved the army units near Mamasapano, Maguindanao, but he "banked on" the pledge of former police chief Alan Purisima for the link up with Armed Forces chief of staff Gregorio Pio Catapang.

Napeñas said this on the second day of the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano clash--it became apparent that while the Philippine National Police was busy going after the Malaysian bombmaker Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, the military also had its own secret operations targeting the same terrorist.

The PNP SAF got Marwan first and the assault cost the lives of 44 SAF personnel.

It was actually Senator Loren Legarda who first mentioned operations codenamed "PSALMS" and "STALKER" in public and the immediate reaction of Catapang and Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero of the AFP Western Mindanao Command was to say they can go into details of PSALMS and STALKER but only in executive session.

In the same Senate hearing, Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and PNP Officer in Charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said that had they been in the loop of the secrecy cloak on the Mamasapano operation, the coordination aspects of it would not be the issue that it is now.

Purisima "advice" to Napeñas

Purisima said in his testimony on Monday that he "advised" Napeñas that Espina and Roxas be informed of the Mamasapano ops only when it were already underway or "time on target", but Napeñas actually informed Espina via text only immediately after the SAF in the field confirmed via radio that they had killed Marwan.

"Malinaw sa akin na kung nalaman ko ito, 'yung koordinasyon na isyu ngauon, hindi sana isyu...Sisiguruhin ko na may gasolina ang helicopter, ang armored personnel, para kung ano mang mangyari, nakahanda tayo," Roxas said.

Espina said the scale of the SAF movement in Mamasapano warranted, according to current rules of the PNP, that he be informed of the plan, which the PNP SAF had codenamed "Operation Exodus" to distinguish it from its precursor "Operation Wolverine."

"Kung almost 400 men [ang involved], dapat alam ko 'yan," Espina said.

Roxas said the success of Exodus would have depended on the availability of resources that comes with proper coordination with the military.

"Ano ang magagawa ng PNP coordination kung hindi alam ng namumuno sa PNP na may operation… [kung] wala kaming mga gamit… ang tagumpay ng isang maselan at kumplikadong operasyon na ito ay nakasalalay din sa availability ng mga resources na ito," Roxas said.

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. grilled Purisima on his "advise" that Napeñas inform the DILG chief and the PNP OIC only when Exodus was underway.

"Don't you trust Roxas or Espina?" the senator asked.

To which Purisima said, "Hindi naman sa ganun, nakalagay lang sa PNP SAF plan na time on target."

Napeñas recalled during the hearing on Tuesday that it was Purisima who said to him that Roxas and Espina will be informed only when they are already "time on target" while the former police chief will inform Catapang.

"Why did you say this to General Napeñas?" Senator Marcos said.

"It is the design of the plan to inform everybody time on target," Purisima said.

According to the PNP board of inquiry, Marwan was killed around 4:15 a.m. It was only after that when Napeñas started sending out text messages to Catapang and Espina.

SAF chief's text had "no sense of urgency"

Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said Napeñas' initial text Sunday morning had "no sense of urgency" because it was merely informing them that a law enforcement operation was underway in Mamasapano.

Pangilinan said they did not have enough information at that time as basis for any decision to provide artillery support, but they did mobilize some infantry and mechanized units.

The general said the AFP had a strict, doctrinal protocol on when to provide supporting artillery fire and the complete information needed for this was available only late afternoon of Sunday, January 25 and not at any time earlier.

Secretary Roxas became emphatic during the hearing about the dire situation the SAF was in at Mamasapano.

"Ang tanong ko naman po, wala mang koordinasyon, saklolo na ang tawag na ito. SOS na ito," Roxas said.

The DILG chief said the military could have, given the severity of the situation of the SAF commandos, fired their artillery on the positions of the SAF in Mamasapano.

"May konsepto rin na fire on my location… Kaysa di kayo mag-fire at mauubos kami rito," Roxas also said.

Roxas had formed a Board of Inquiry, which as of Tuesday, had taken the sworn statements of 302 SAF officers and have yet to receive the statements of 42 more police officers.

So far, the BoI learned that Oplan Exodus involved the mobilization of 392 SAF police personnel spread out to 12 different operating groups with different roles and assignments. Of the 44 SAF who died, 35 came from the 55th Special Action Company.

"One group was assigned as the main effort (ME), four groups as support effort (SE), two groups as blocking forces, and two groups for route security. Meanwhile, an Advance Command Post (ACP) and a Tactical Command Post (TCP) were established for Command and Control," the BoI said in a news release.

The BoI also said, "14 key players from the AFP side have given their respective statements but seven (7) remain unsigned."

Police Director Benjamin B. Magalong, Police Director Catalino B. Rodriguez, and Police Chief Superintendent John Q. Sosito comprise the board, with Magalong serving as chairperson. It has an operational audit team and 46 investigators providing technical support. — ELR, GMA News

Tags: mamasapanoclash, senateprobemamasapanoclash