Philippine National Police Deputy Director General and PNP Officer-in-Charge Leonardo Espina said yesterday that, “The large scale operation against Zulkifli bin Hir also known as “Marwan” didn’t reach us (PNP command group).
“The Command had no knowledge that the Special Action Force
(SAF) will deploy more than 300 hundred men to get “Marwan” in Mamasapano town,
Maguindanao, Espina also said. The Board of Inquiry will look into the
administrative liability of the officers and will also include the criminal and
external liability of the perpetrators, he said further.
The uncoordinated operation caused the death 44 elite cops
and wounded 12 more when they clashed with guerillas belonging to the the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF) last Sunday. DILG Secretary Mar Roxas described the incident as
“misencounter”.
Von Al Haq, Spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces
(BIAF) and Mohagher Iqbal, MILF Chief Negotiator claim that SAF Commandos
intruded their base, violating the ceasefire agreement between Muslim rebels
and government troops and never coordinated with us, the Ceasefire Committee
and the ADJAG.
Espina and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas have not confirmed
who gave the officers the go-signal to penetrate the MILF and BIFF camp.
But so as not to influence the investigation, they ordered
the administrative relief of SAF head Police Director Getulio Napeñas.
Napeñas will be replaced by deputy SAF director Chief
Superintendent Noli Taliño.
Mainly, the BOI will look into the lapses committed, create
doctrinal, tactical and preparational point of view as reference for future
police operations.
“It’s important to know what the operational lapses are so
this won’t happen again,” Espina said.
The board is composed of Police Director Edgardo Ingking of
the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, Police
Director Benjamin Magalong of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group
and Chief Superintendent Catalino Rodrigo of the Directorate for Human
Resource and Doctrine Development.
“We want to know what really happened. The board of inquiry
will entail both internal and external aspects, what are the liabilities of the
officers who led this SAF operation,” Espina said.
But Roxas assured that the PNP still backs the peace
process with the Muslim groups.
”Tuloy ang tiwala at kumpiyansa ng PNP sa peace process.
Bagaman napaka lungkot, kabahagi pa rin ang PNP sa pagsulong ng kasalukuyang
peace process” (Though the incident is regrettable, the PNP still trust and
supports the peace process), Sec. Roxas said.
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