Grace Poe: Up to Congress to hold PNoy accountable through impeachment

Aquino's decision to meet with Purisima to discuss the Mamasapano police operation may be a lapse in judgment but is far from an impeachable offense, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said.

 

Belmonte, a vice chairman of the Liberal Party, even said it was "common sense" to involve Purisima in the operation to neutralize suspected terrorists in Mamasapano because of his vast knowledge as regards the hunt for Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.
 

“I think on the question of talking with a suspended official, very clearly I’m trying to read the President’s mind. [From] his point of view, he talked to somebody who had been on top of the situation for a very long time. [Purisima] was the person who knew about [the Mamasapano operation]," Belmonte told reporters Tuesday.

"From a legal point of view, Purisima should have no role at all in this whole thing. From a common sense point of view, he was the logical person to talk to since siya ang nakakaalam ng operations and it was planned under his supervision,” he added.

 

At most, Belmonte believes Aquino can only be faulted for his judgment involving Purisima in the Mamasapano operation since he thought “it was a common sense thing to do.”

 

“In my view, he (Aquino) did not commit an impeachable offense. The only thing that can be faulted on him is the fact that he continued to talk to, receive orders from and act through Purisima. Now kamukha ng sabi ko, ang tingin niya roon, that is a common sense thing to do dahil di kakalat yung information at siya (Purisima) ‘yung taong nakakaalam noon. It was a fault of judgment at best,” he said.