Magalong asks for reopening of Mamasapano probe, says ex-PNoy liable for SAF 44 deaths

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Friday joined the kin of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members killed in the infamous 2015 Mamasapano clash in asking the Ombudsman to reopen its investigation on the incident.

Magalong, a retired police official, blamed then-President Benigno Aquino III’s defiance of the chain-of-command in executing such mission for the deaths of SAF troopers.

He was referring to Aquino’s decision not to inform then-Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Leonardo Espina of Oplan Exodus, the mission to capture terrorists Zulkifli Bin Hir and Basit Usman.

Instead, Aquino tackled and approved Oplan Exodus with then-Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima who, at that time, was under suspension due to pending corruption charges, and then-SAF chief Getulio Napeñas.

The 44 SAF members were able to kill Usman but they were later attacked and eventually killed by a combined force of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and other armed groups in the area.

The PNP's Board of Inquiry, which was led by Magalong, later found that Oplan Exodus was also not coordinated with the military and the government peace panel talking with the MILF.

“The Chain of Command was violated when the President, suspended PNP Chief Purisima and Napeñas kept the information to themselves and deliberately failed to inform Espina and Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas II. The chain of command should be observed in running mission operations,” Magalong said in his affidavit filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Oplan Exodus can never be executed effectively because it was defective from the beginning. It is clearly evident that former President Benigno Aquino III, being then the commander-in-chief of the  Armed Forces of the Philippines, should be held accountable and responsible for the deaths of the SAF 44 troopers in the botched Oplan Exodus in Mamasapano, Maguindanao with Purisima and Napeñas in violation of the Chain of Command in the PNP.”

Magalong’s move came almost three months after the Sandiganbayan granted the motion of Ombudsman Samuel Martires to pull out graft and usurpation charges filed against Aquino in connection with the deaths of 44 SAF members, saying the evidence at hand is not enough for the case to proceed.

“Considering that the records of the present cases are bereft of any evidence that would merit further proceedings as against accused Aquino for the charges in violation of Section 3 of RA 3019 (Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and usurpation of official functions under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code, the Court finds that the dismissal the said cases is indeed warranted,” the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division's decision read.

In 2017, the Ombudsman dismissed the complaint against the three former officials for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide for lack of probable cause. The Supreme Court upheld the Ombudsman decision this year.

Asked if the Ombudsman can still reinvestigate despite a finding of no probable cause by the high court itself, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said: "Let Ombudsman Martires rule on that."

Aquino: No direct participation

Aquino has already denied hand in Oplan Exodus. In his counter-affidavit filed in 2017, he said he "had no direct participation in the planning, approval, and execution" of the operation.

"To stress, the plan was already finished and operational details prepared and set out when it was presented to me (merely for my information and not to seek my approval)—as in fact my direct approval was not even necessary to carry out such operation," Aquino said.

"Simply put, these factual allegations, by themselves, do not constitute and cannot be considered as amounting to negligence," he added. —with Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/KBK/RSJ, GMA News