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Duterte: Roxas wasted 44 lives in Mamasapano
By DONA MAGSINO,GMA NewsPresident Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas was one of those to blame for the death of the 44 members of the Special Action Force who were slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in 2015.
"He wasted 44 lives for nothing. They could not even explain why it was the police who went there... hanggang ngayon hindi niya sinagot ito," Duterte said in a speech at a PDP-Laban campaign rally in Cagayan.
Duterte was referring to the firefight
between the special unit of the Philippine National Police and the Moro rebels in 2015 which resulted in the demise of 44 cops in the operation.He pointed out that the SAF was not familiar with the terrain and questioned why there were no reinforcements provided despite the availability of air assets near the area.
Further, the President bared more details to his previous claim that he was with Roxas and former President Benigno Aquino III
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"Nandoon ako sa Zamboanga. Nandoon din si Roxas... pinatawag kami doon sa command conference. Itong dalawang Roxas at Aquino panay ang tindig doon sa likod ng stage, kami naman naghihintay," he said as he recalled how dismayed he was with the strategy of those in authority at that time.
"Nag-upo na kami doon, andyan 'yung mga general, tinanong niya (former President Aquino) 'yung mga general... tapos tinanong niya, 'Kung ikaw general kung ikaw ang nandoon, anong gawin mo?' P*****I** tumindig ako sabi ko Mr. President I have a flight, I have to... tumindig ako because it was a very stupid... magtanong ka ng ganun, natapos na ang araw, patay na ang mga sundalo ko... tumindig ako," he added.
Roxas, who is running for senator in the midterm elections, was secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) when the Mamasapano incident happened.
In August 2015, Roxas faced the Senate probe into the tragedy to explain his role in the operation.
Months after the incident, Roxas had said that he continued to think what else could he have done, but said that he was kept in the dark about the details of the operation. —LDF, GMA News