Ex-SAF chief blames military for bungled operations vs. Marwan in the past

Relieved police Special Action Force chief Director Getulio Napeñas on Monday blamed the military for several unsuccessful operations to arrest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan in the past.

Facing the Senate committee on public order, Napeñas said before "Oplan Exodus," or the January 25 SAF operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao where Marwan was killed, they had already launched six operations to serve arrest warrant against him in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).  

Napeñas said during "Oplan Wolverine" on April 25, 2014 in Barangay Libutan in Mamasapano, AFP "abandoned" SAF by taking back its promise to provide mechanized brigade units.

"'Yung in-abandon kami ng 6th Infantry Division by not providing the mechanized brigade during our operation despite our due coordination with them, napakasakit na pangyayari po iyon," he told lawmakers.

The Senate committee was looking into the circumstances on why the operation led to a clash with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has an existing peace agreement with the government, resulting in 44 SAF members killed.

Speculation

The commander of the 6th Infantry Division during that time, Major General Romeo Gapuz, has yet to comment to Napeñas' claim. However, the current division commander, Major General Edmundo Pangilinan, who is also the deputy commander for peace process of AFP Western Mindanao in Zamboanga, denied the allegations.

"We never abandoned and we never withdrew our support," he said.

In Camp Aguinaldo, AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said Napeñas' claim is a “serious allegation” and dared the police official to substantiate his statement.

“We have no information about officers or unit who conspired to hide Marwan or undermining the effort of the government in the fight against terrorism. That’s speculation,” Cabunoc told a press briefing.

Cabunoc is confident that the various investigations being conducted by different sectors on the Mamasapano incident, where 44 policemen were killed in an encounter with Moro guerillas, will shed light on the issue.

Leakage

In other cases, Napeñas said Marwan was able to escape after the operations were aborted when armed groups engaged them in a firefight. He blamed this on leakage of information.

Napeñas also said this was a major reason why they did not to coordinate with other agencies during the January 25 Mamasapano operation.

"The information and preparations of operations are leaked whenever major operations against high value targets are conducted as the subjects both Marwan and (Abdulbasit) Usman are being coddled by the MILF whose members have lots of contacts with AFP and PNP,” he said.

"'Yung paghahanda po ng Armed Forces of the Philippines para sa operations, naghahanda po ang mga kasamahan nila, 'yung mga tauhan nila. At oftentimes sa paghahanda ng operasyon, lumilitaw ko nalalaman 'yun ng mga contact ng MILF na nandiyan sa paligid o sa kampo mismo ng Armed Forces of the Philippines," he added.

Lack of coordination

Authorities pointed out that lack of coordination with the military was one of the reasons why the SAF operation against Marwan and Filipino bomb-maker Abdulbasit Usman led to the massacre of 44 elite police officers.

Based on the statements of the authorities, it was already around 5:30 a.m. that SAF informed AFP and acting PNP chief Leonardo Espina of the operation, which at the time was already underway.

The Army's 6th Infantry Division also said that it was around that time that they received the information.

"Hindi namin alam kung ilan ang SAF na nag-operate. Hindi namin alam kung saan ang kanilang area of operation. Hindi po namin alam ang kung anong lugar lalung-lalo na po kung dito ay may civilian communities. 'Yun po ang mga consideration na atin pong kino-consider in order for us 'yung firing ng artillery," Pangilinan said told the Senate hearing.

Nevertheless, Cabunoc said the military will exert efforts to determine if there are soldiers who have colluded or are colluding with terrorists.

“We have what we call counter-intelligence. Investigation within our ranks to determine if there are personnel involved or have colluded with the enemy, if they are violating security protocols leading to failed operations,” he said. —Trisha Macas/KBK, GMA News