Only SAF complied with ceasefire order during Mamasapano clash –Napeñas

The relieved commander of the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) on Tuesday said that while his men complied with the ceasefire order during the January 25 Mamasapano encounter, their enemies did not, resulting in the high number of casualties on the government side.

“Yes, your honor, I agree with you that unilaterally, huminto po talaga ang SAF,” said Director Getulio Napeñas during the fifth day of the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano clash.

“Pero based on the exchange of text messages na binasa ninyo and based on our monitoring of the situation on the ground, hindi po sila tumigil. Tuloy-tuloy po sila ng pag-engage sa troops natin hanggang 6 p.m.,” he added, referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The encounter, which stemmed from a covert police operation to arrest two high-profile terrorist targets, led to the deaths of 44 SAF troopers, while the MILF said 18 of their members were also killed during the incident.

Napeñas was responding to the query of Senator Ralph Recto on whether it can be concluded that only the police force complied with the ceasefire order of the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the Government and the MILF during the encounter.

Text messages

Recto, during his turn to question the resource persons present during the hearing, read the exchange of text messages between Napeñas and the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division commander Major General Edmundo Pangilinan on January 25.

In the exchange of text messages, which started at 6 a.m., Napeñas was asking for reinforcement such as artillery support from Pangilinan, saying that the MILF and the BIFF kept on firing at the SAF troopers despite the ceasefire.

In a text message that Napeñas sent to Pangilinan at 10:54 a.m., he informed him that he has already advised the SAF ground commanders to stop firing in compliance to the ceasefire order of the CCCH.

However, in another text message sent by Napeñas to Pangilinan at 1:02 p.m., he again asked for reinforcement from the Army, saying that the MILF was not complying with the ceasefire.

“Hindi tumigil MILF sa pag-atake. Baka pwede reinforcement. Baka maubos tao namin. Dumating pa reinforcement ng MILF,” Napeñas supposedly told Pangilinan in a text message read by Recto during the hearing.

Ceasefire

Acting SAF officer-in-charge Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, likewise, supported Napeñas' claim that only the SAF troopers complied with the ceasefire order.

Taliño said during the hearing that Senior Inspector John Mangahis of the PNP-SAF and Col. Gener Del Rosario of Army's 1st Mechanized Brigade went to the MILF 105th Base Command headquarters to ask permission to enter the encounter site, but when the two officers went back to the PNP command post, they informed the police forces that the joint CCCH has already called for a ceasefire.

“Pumunta pa sila sa base command ng MILF para magpaalam. Nang bumalik sila, mga tanghali, sabi ceasefire na, ceasefire na. So I advised our troops na ceasefire na. Pero ang sabi sa 'kin ng mga tao sa ground, Sir, nag ceasefire na kami, pero patuloy pa rin sila (MILF at BIFF) sa pagbaril,” Taliño said.

Recto said that based Napeñas' text messages and Taliño's statement, there was only a unilateral ceasefire during the encounter. He also said this compliance of the SAF troopers to the ceasefire order may have contributed to the high number of casualties on the police side.

“Lumalabas dito na dahil sa ceasefire, umawat ang gobyerno sa gobyerno pero wala namang ceasefire sa part ng MILF at pinatay na ang ibang SAF members,” Recto said.

Don't jump into conclusion

Meanwhile, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Mohagher Iqbal, peace panel chair of the government and the MILF, respectively, said the Senate must not jump into the conclusion that the MILF did not comply with the ceasefire order, pointing out that aside from the MILF, the BIFF and private armed groups were also involved in the firefight.

“This has to be reconstructed, because as you know, there are other armed elements in the area. Hindi po natin alam kung ano talaga ang nangyari,” Ferrer said.

“We have to reconstruct what really happened. First there was no coordination – between the AHJAG (Ad Hoc Joint Action Group) of the government and the MILF at PNP-SAF to AHJAG. Dahil hindi po nainform ang AHJAG ng gobyerno, hindi rin na-inform ang AHJAG ng MILF,” Iqbal said.

GPH-CCCH head Brigadier General Carlito Galvez explained that based on his experience, it is really hard to enforce a ceasefire order in the heat of a firefight.

“Sa proseso po talaga ng ceasefire based on my experience, kahit sabihin po namin na ceasefire na, hindi po sila agad makakatigil because of they are engaging,” Galvez said.

“There is no truth na unilateral [ceasefire lang] kasi ongoing yung firefight. Ang naging problema ng SAF troopers ay nasa lower ground sila, talagang defenseless sila,” he added. —KBK, GMA News