Bato: Ex-Pres. Aquino should be held accountable for Mamasapano clash

Former President Benigno Aquino III should be held accountable for the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in the infamous January 2015 operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said Tuesday.

"Kung tutuusin, lahat doon dapat managot," Dela Rosa, who was part of the Board of Inquiry that probed the incident, told reporters. "Ang recommendation namin sa Board of Inquiry [ay] hanggang sa highest official na involved doon sa operation na 'yun ang dapat managot."

Asked if he thinks Aquino should also be held accountable, Dela Rosa said: "Oo, dapat hanggang sa President dapat. 'Yun naman ang recommendation namin, di ba?"

The BOI said Aquino violated the PNP chain of command when he allowed then-suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima to get involved in the planning and execution of Oplan Exodus, the mission to neutralize high-value targets, including Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, the target of the operation in Mamasapano. 

"The chain of the command in the PNP was violated. The President, the suspended CPNP Purisima, and the former Director SAF [Getulio] Napeñas kept the information to themselves and deliberately failed to inform the OIC PNP and the SILG," the BOI said in its report.

"The Chain of Command should be observed in running mission operations," it added.

The panel said Aquino "bypassed the established PNP Chain of Command" by dealing "directly" with sacked Special Action Force chief Dir. Getulio Napeñas Jr. instead of with the officer-in-charge Deputy Dir. Gen. Leonardo Espina.

Dela Rosa said it is up to President Rodrigo Duterte if cases will be pursued against Aquino and the others in connection with the Mamasapano clash.

"Hintay ko lang ang instruction ng President. Alam ko DOJ (Department of Justice) naman ang uutusan niya dyan. ‘Yung sa pulis tapos na, kung may lalabas na warrant, ‘yung pulis tutulong," he said.

At least three complaints have already been filed against Aquino and the others in connection with the bloody incident. The complaints were filed by families of the 44 slain SAF members.

Aquino, who stepped down from the presidency on June 30, 2016, dismissed the complaints as harassment.

In June last year, the Office of the Ombudsman affirmed its ruling finding probable cause to file graft and usurpation of authority charges before Sandiganbayan against Purisima Napeñas over the incident.  —KBK, GMA News