Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Deputy
Director General Leonardo Espina on Wednesday appealed to let the Board of
Inquiry (BOI) determine the truth on the Mamasapano, Maguindanao clash that
resulted to the death of 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) last
Jan. 25.
"A BOI was created for purposes of meeting the
objective in knowing what I and the SILG (Secretary of the Interior and Local
Government) Mar Roxas, and everybody in the hierarchy would like to know what
really happened. The BOI (would) cover the police ops (operation) that
transpired,” Espina said during a press conference held in Camp Crame
He added that they have now the statements and continues to
interview men and women involved for the ongoing investigation regarding the
incident.
”As of now, hindi ko talaga alam mga nilalaman lahat ng mga
statements but they have taken 293 statements from a possible 420 plus or more
to be interviewed so that we achieve the objective to know what really happened
from start to end, and we were given one month,” he noted.
Espina also said that he was informed by Criminal
Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) head Director General Benjamin
Magalong that they are still waiting for the report from the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP).
"The other day, we met with our AFP counterparts (and)
they assured us (that) they will give full cooperation with the BOI. We will
base all conclusions on facts and not conjectures or hearsays,” he said.
The PNP-OIC also reacted to the statement of former SAF
chief Getulio Napeñas who earlier admitted that he was reporting directly to
suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima.
Purisima was suspended on December 2014 due to alleged
questionable transactions.
The sacked PNP-SAF chief also admitted that Purisima told
him not to inform PNP officer-in-charge Leonardo Espina about the operation in
Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
"Hindi ako puwedeng dumiretso kay (DILG Secretary)
Manuel Roxas II kasi ma-violate ko ang chain of command," Napenas said in
a separate press conference when asked if Purisima also ordered him not to tell
Roxas.
The relieved PNP-SAF commander also maintained that their
mission was successful and offered to resign if the DNA test on the samples
collected by the commandos during the operation proved they had missed Jemaah
Islamiya (JI) Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.
"Magre-resign na ako kung hindi si Marwan ang target.
Malaki ang kredibilidad na siya ‘yung target at namatay sa operation (I will
resign if the target was not Marwan)," he said.
For his part, Espina said he has no knowledge if it's true
that Napenas reports directly to Purisima.
"But strictly speaking, (sa) chain of command natin I
stand as OIC, I should have been informed," he added.
Espina also maintained that the PNP as peacekeepers still
backs the peace process with the MILF.
"We behave according to the protocol of the discussion.
We expect the other party to behave," he said.
The PNP OIC also called on the Moro troops to return the
weapons and equipment they took from the slain 44 SAF men.
"To the..... who encountered my people and who have our
equipment, isoli ninyo. Pinatay ninyo na lahat ng tao ko pati equipment namin
kukunin ninyo. May usapin tayo. That's not yours, don't sell that,” he said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=0&sid=&nid=0&rid=732478
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