IS President Benigno Aquino III liable for the Jan. 25 botched Mamasapano operation that claimed the lives of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) policemen and 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) troopers?
The submission of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Board of Inquiry (BOI) report would probably prompt the President to explain himself further.
Moreover, the report discussed the failure in the coordination within the commanders, the unrealistic assumptions during the planning stage, and even the defective equipment of the SAF members. The PNP even acknowledged its own wrongdoings that led to the failure of the operation.
Police Director Benjamin Magalong, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the chairman of the BOI, said the members of the investigation panel could “look straight into the eyes of the family members of the SAF 44.”
“We are confident that we were able to seek out the truth,” he said.
The release of the BOI report is just a baby step towards justice. Other parties who have done their separate investigations, including the MILF, have not released their reports yet. The truth may be multifaceted. But in order to apprehend those who are liable, all these truths (reports) must be heard.
Napenas, Purisima, Espina have all narrated their individual accounts of events during the televised Senate investigation, but the President, whose name is being dragged in the mud, and the MILF have yet to tell their detailed accounts of their share of the story.
The Philippines, together with the bereaved families of the fallen SAF 44, long for justice for the death of the country’s elite policemen. More than apprehending those who are guilty, an honest account of the incident will end the possibility of having another bloody clash like this.
(AJPress)
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