DOJ refrains from looking into PNoy’s liability in Mamasapano clash

Contrary to other investigating bodies that have released reports on the Mamasapano incident, the Department of Justice (DOJ) refrained from looking into the possible liability of President Benigno Aquino III in the botched operation that left over 60 people dead.

In the first few pages of its 255-page report released on Wednesday, the DOJ clarified that determining any administrative liabilities of public officials involved in the “drafting, planning and implementation” of Oplan Exodus now rests with the Office of the Ombudsman, which launched its own investigation on Mamasapano earlier than the DOJ.

“Since the Ombudsman, through its Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO), already started its own investigation of the Mamasapano incident in March 2015, its exercise necessarily precludes us from making any determination on the administrative liabilities of public officers involved in the drafting, planning and implementation of Oplan Exodus and their superiors in the Executive department,” the DOJ report said.

Oplan Exodus was the operation of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) to arrest high-profile terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Abdul Basit Usman.

It went awry when a firefight broke out between the SAF troopers and the combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, its splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and some private armed groups in the area.

Over 60 people were killed in the clash, 44 of them SAF members.

The report further said that it would also be “improper” for the DOJ to look into the possible criminal liability of officials who have a hand in the operation, as the Ombudsman has sole jurisdiction over investigating and building up criminal cases against public officials to be filed before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.

“In the matter of the possible criminal liability of these public officers, under the Ombusman Act of 1989, the Ombudsman investigates and prosecutes on its own...Hence, it would only be proper for us to defer to the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman in the matter of the criminal liability of public offcers involved in the drafting, planning and implementation of Oplan Exodus and their superiors in the Executive department,” the DOJ said.

It has earlier been reported that Aquino approved the implementation of Oplan Exodus and was in fact briefed about it a few days before it was carried out on January 25.

In its own report on the Mamasapano incident released last month, the PNP Board of Inquiry said Aquino bypassed the chain of command by dealing directly with then-SAF chief General Getulio Napeñas Jr. and then-suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima instead of with PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.

In its report, the Senate likewise found Aquino “ultimately responsible” for the Mamasapano incident for allowing a suspended PNP chief to oversee the operation.

Malacañang and even Justice Secretary Leila De Lima were quick in defending Aquino, saying that as the chief executive of a civilian organization like the PNP, it is the prerogative of the President to talk to anyone of his subordinates in the PNP, and he cannot be compelled to follow the PNP's internal operational procedure.

In four televised speeches Aquino likewise defended himself from the incident, saying that he was fooled by Napeñas that proper preparations and coordination were done before the implementation of Oplan Exodus.

Despite Aquino's explations, his approval, performance and satisfaction ratings dropped to all-time low in recent surveys. — BM, GMA News