Benigno Aquino III | Prepys' Homepage

Mar forgot to tell PNoy about BOI request

March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Police Director Benjamin Magalong, BOI-PNP head.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas forgot to tell President Aquino of the request Police Director Benjamin Magalong to interview him before the Board of Inquiry on the Mamasapaano tragedy released their report last March 13, ABS-CBN reported.

Mar Roxas. Photo from KickerDaily.

Magalong said he met with Aquino in Malacañang on Tuesday together with Roxas and Philippine National Police Officer-in-Charge Leonardo Espina.

He said Roxas also apologized for failing to inform the President about the BOI’s request to interview him regarding the Mamasapano mission.

“Binanggit din niya syempre yung issue na bakit hindi ko siya na-interview. At in-explain ko rin sa kanya na, inamin din naman ni Secretary [Roxas] na talagang sa dami ng trabaho nakalimutan na mabanggit kay Presidente at dapat na-remind ko sila,” he said.

It will be recalled that Presidential Spokesperson scored the BOI for not getting the side of the President before issuing the report.

It was reported here Monday that Magalong asked Roxas last March 9 to relay their request to Aquino for an interview.

Following is the report of ABS-CBN’s Jeff Canoy:

“President Aquino was hurt by the findings of the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry on the Mamasapano incident, according to the BOI chairman who was summoned to Malacanang to meet with the President.
Police Director Benjamin Magalong, chairman of the BOI and head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said he met with President Aquino in Malacanang on Tuesday, just days after the PNP released the full BOI report on the Mamasapano incident.

Present during the meeting were Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and PNP Officer-in-Charge Leonardo Espina.

According to Magalong, the President was hurt by the BOI findings.

“Visibly nasaktan siya. President siya. Nasaktan siya sa naging report, makikita naman yun. Pero even then during that time talagang very calm siya, talagang cordial at maayos naman ang aming discussion,” he said.

The BOI report earlier said the chain of command of the PNP was violated after the President, suspended PNP chief Alan Purisima and Special Action Force commander Getulio Napenas deliberately failed to inform the PNP OIC about the Mamasapano mission by keeping the information to themselves.

It also said the President “gave the go-signal and allowed the execution of Oplan: Exodus after the concept of operations was presented to him by…Napenas.”

It said the President allowed Purisima to participate in the planning and execution of Oplan Exodus despite the latter’s suspension.

It also said the President exercised his prerogative to deal directly with Napenas instead of Espina. The report said the act of dealing with Napenas instead of PNP OIC Espina “bypassed the established PNP Chain of Command.”

Magalong said the President explained that he gave instructions to Purisima to coordinate the Mamasapano mission with PNP OIC Espina. This order was not followed.

He said the President also admitted that he expected full cooperation between the SAF and military forces in Mamasapano, not knowing that Napenas did not follow his order.

Magalong described the meeting as “no holds barred,” with all contentious issues discussed.

“Sa mga contentious issues na nabanggit ng Presidente, binanggit ko rin kay Presidente na we never mentioned that you violated the Chain of Command. We just said that you exercised your prerogative to talk directly to Gen. Napenas. Andun sa conclusion namin. Kung anong conclusion namin is statement of fact. That is a statement of fact,” he said.

Magalong said Secretary Roxas also apologized for failing to inform the President about the BOI’s request to interview him regarding the Mamasapano mission.

The BOI chairman said he regrets failing to interview President Aquino before issuing the final BOI report.
However, he also admitted that the results of the BOI investigation will not be changed much.

For now, Magalong said he is focused on going back to work as CIDG chief after finishing what he describes as the hardest investigation in his career.

“I’m glad it’s over. It’s time to move on, there are so many thing need to be done,” he said.

Senators asked the wrong question

February 15, 2015February 15, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Sen. Grace Poe chairs hearing on Mamasapano carnage.

It was President Aquino who informed Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang and the rest of the presidential party in Zamboanga on the Mamasapano debacle on Jan. 25, a source close to Malacañang said.

That’s why in the hearings in the Senate and the House of Representatives the three and Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of Western Mindanao Command said they didn’t inform Aquino of the dawn carnage that left 44 members of the Special Action Force dead when they were with him throughout the day.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Defense Secretarty Voltaire Gazmin say they didn’t tell the President even if they were getting reports of the debacle.

They all looked and sounded stupid or they thought the senators and the public were stupid to believe what they were saying. Gazmin said that when he learned of the encounter at 11 a.m., he felt no urgency to tell the President. Besides, it was a police matter, he said.

Catapang also said he did not inform the President. Roxas said he didn’t realize the urgency of the incident.
Only suspended Police Chief Alan Purisima did not take the “I did not tell him” line. He asked that he be given time because he needs “to seek clearance from the President to answer the question.”

Suspended PNP Chief says he needs permission from the President to answer the question if he told the President about the Mamasapano ‘incident’ and what time.

That’s because it was Purisima who informed the President of the debacle before he left for Zamboanga that day. He arrived there past 10 a.m.

This information surfaced when I remarked to a friend/source that it was obvious that everybody is covering up for the President, who should be made accountable for the death of the 44 SAF commandos.

The source said, “The senators were asking the wrong question. They asked Mar, Gazmin, and Catapang when they told the President. The persons they were asking did not inform the President about the Mamasapano incident. It was the President who informed them.”

Oh.

So that was it. Roxas, Gazmin, and Catapang were not lying. Perhaps if they were asked the right question, something like , “Did the President inform you or mention to you anything about an operation against two high-value terrorists?,” they would have answered truthfully. Perhaps.

Let’s see if they will be truthful when the senators ask them the right question in the next hearing.
***

The President tells SAF he knew of the ‘incident’ early.

This is what the President told members of the SAF at Camp Bagong Diwa early hours of Jan. 30 which confirms that he knew of the Mamasapano tragedy early:

“Bago pa lang sinabihan na ako ng resulta kay Marwan.

“Nang sinasayasat naming ang nangyari sa Zamboanga, dumadating ang mga report. May mga imbestigasyon na ginagawa. Gusto nga natin malaman paano tayo makasiguro na hindi tayo magkaroon ng ganung sakuna, ganitong insidente, ganitong kaso at least na napakabigat para sa inyo.

“Malaking bilang talaga sa mga Pilipino damang- dama talaga ang nangyari sa inyong mga kasamahan.”

Nagdurugo ang puso ni Aquino sa pagbitaw kay Purisima

February 7, 2015February 7, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Aquino announces he accepted resignation of suspended PNP Chief Alan Purisima last Friday, Feb. 6.

Noong Biyernes ng gabi, lumabas si Pangulong Aquino (mga isang linggo din siyang hindi nakikita at naririnig mula nang pumunta siya sa lamay ng 44 na miyembro ng Special Action Force sa Camp Bagong Diwa) at nagsalita sa telebisyon tungkol sa trahedya sa Mamasapano, Maguindanao noong Enero 25.

Pangalawang pagsalita niya ito tungkol sa trahedya na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa natutukoy ng opisyal kung sino tala ang may responsibilidad. Ngunit sa unit-unting lumalabas na balita, kahit mag-kakaiba nagkakaroon ng ideya ang publiko kung sino-sino ang may pananagutan.

Maliban kay Pangulong Aquino mismo, bilang commander-in-chief at nag-amin na alam niya ang tungkol sa operasyon at ang hepe ng SAF na si Chief Director Getulio Napeñas, may kinalaman din and suspendido na hepe ng Philippine National Police na si Alan Purisima.

Sabi ni Napenas kay Purisima daw siya nagre-report. Itinanggi naman ito ni Purisima.

Akala ng marami, may malaking sasabihin si Aquino na magbigay liwanag sa trahedya kung saan 44 na buhay ng ating pinagamagaling na pulis ang nalagas sa misyon na pagdakip sa dalawang terorista na nasa lugar na sakop ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Malalim ang pinagsamahan:PNP Chief Alan Purisima and President Aquino

Ngunit nag inanunsyo ni Aquino ay ang pagbibitiw ni Purisima na sinabi niyang tinanggap niya kahit mabigat sa kanyang kalooban.

Sabi ni Aquino:”Kaya nga po, siguro naman ay maiintindihan ninyo kung bakit masakit para sa akin na aalis siya sa serbisyo sa ilalim ng ganitong pagkakataon. Tinatanggap ko po, effective immediately, ang resignation ni General Purisima. At nagpapasalamat ako sa mahabang panahon ng kanyang paglilingkod bago mangyari ang trahedyang ito.”

Malaki daw ang tulong ni Purisima para mapatay paghuli at pagpatay kay Zulkifli bin Hir alias ”Marwan.” Kaya paslamat tayo kay Purisima?

“Naging malaking bahagi din po ng layunin nating tugisin sina Marwan at Usman ang papel ni General Alan Purisima. Marami siyang iniambag sa mahabang proseso at maraming operasyon na pinlano para dito,” sabi ni Aquino.

Ikinuwento na naman niya ang malalim nilang samahan ni Purisima:“Hindi rin naman po lingid sa kaalaman ng publiko na mahaba ang aming pinagdaanan. Noon pong coup d’etat, o iyong attempted coup d’etat ng 1987, panatag ang loob ko bago kami na-ambush na may sapat na kakayahan ang aming security personnel. Dahil nga po halos naubos ang mga kasamahan ko, nayanig ang aking kompiyansa. Si Alan Purisima po ang nag-design, nagpatupad, nagtrain sa amin ng isang modified VIP protection course; malaki ang naitulong nito sa panunumbalik ng aking kompiyansa. Mula noon, hanggang ngayon, marami kaming pinagdaanan; kasama ko siya sa pakikipagtunggali sa mga makapangyarihang interes na maaari kaming ipahamak. Noong mga panahong bahagi ako ng oposisyon, bagama’t peligroso sa kanyang karera ang pagiging malapit sa akin, hindi po ako iniwan ni Alan.”

Ito ang problema kay Aquino. Madali lumabo ang kanyang paningin sa kapakanan ng bayan kapag kaibigan ang sangkot.

Masama ang loob niya na bitawan si Purisima. Kaya lang sinasabi sa kanya ng mga malapit sa kanya na tumitindi ang galit ng sambayanang Pilipino. Kapag hindi niya bitawan si Purisima, baka pati siya matumba.

Ang hinihintay pa ngayon ng taumbayan ay kung kaya niya manindigan laban sa MILF para Yan pa ang hinihintay ng taumbayan.

Let him finish his term

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Militant group renews call for Aquino to step down.

I hold President Aquino accountable for the death of 44 Special Action Force commandos but I don’t want him forced to shorten his term which is due to end on June 30 next year.

I’m not joining calls for him to resign. I’m against a coup de’etat.

I want him to finish his mandate which the Filipino electorate bestowed on him when they elected him five years ago.

But he should shape up and take seriously his responsibilities as President.

He owes it to the Filipino people even to those who didn’t vote for him.

There are calls for Aquino’s resignation following the death of 44 SAF commandos last Jan. 25 who were in a mission to arrest two international terrorists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Aquino’s mishandling of the debacle (keeping silent in the first four days and not showing up for the arrival honors at Villamor Air Base for the 44 – he was at a Mitsubishi Motors plant launch) earned his widespread disgust.

The Makabayan bloc in Congress said, “Aquino lost his moral ascendancy and legitimacy to govern when he lied to the people on his responsibility and accountability in the botched police operation that led to the deaths of 44 police, 18 Moro fighters and 8 civilians. He covers up the role of United States and the unlawful participation of suspended PNP Chief General Allan Purisima. He broke the chain of command and violated the required coordination in the peace agreements with the MILF. The blood of the fallen SAF 44 and 26 Moros are on his hands.

“Aquino must resign! The President must resign for the sake of the nation, to save our nation from further disasters, moral bankruptcy, and massive poverty.”

The Makabayan bloc is composed of Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, Luz Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela, Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers, Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis, and Terry Ridon of Kabataan.
The secretary-general of the militant Bayan, Renato Reyes, said Aquino has become “the greatest stumbling block to truth and accountability…he has to go.”

Two Catholic bishops- Archbishop Romulo dela Cruz of Zamboanga and Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa have joined the calls for Aquino’s resignation.”I ask that he should step down…. He is not competent enough to run the affairs of government,” said Archbishop Cruz.

Archbishop Arguelles, whose 2012 comment about the President’s balding head was complained about by Aquino to Pope Francis during the latter’s visit in Malacanang last month, called on the people “to go to the streets and demand that Aquino step down.”

“I call for a revolution, but not the bloody kind,” Arguelles said urging Aquino to” step down to give way to a new government.”

Fr. Jun Mercado

Oblates missionary priest Fr. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, a Mindanao peace advocate posted this in his Facebook: “Some experts claim that PNoy has ‘Nerd Personality disorder and Mild Autism’, he is psychologically not fit to govern the country, he should resign now before more and more people would die and suffer if another disaster strikes our country.

“He has his own world and at times or oftentimes this world is not in touch with the real world out there. (Those) close to the Aquino family has known this.

“There are people who exploit this reality and this made possible what we have been observing these past years…. DAP, Ouster of CJ Corona at all cost with the use of PDAF .. Reaction to Luneta massacre, Yolanda, and the botched Operation at Mamasapano that led to slaughter…

“I now believe this claim…. And I join my voice to the clamor asking for PNoy’s resignation and allow him to rest and privately live in his own world.”

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP President: voice of moderation.

The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippine, Socrates Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, said “the CBCP cannot morally join in the calls for his resignation, leaving this decision to his humble and prayerful discernment of his capacity to lead and the support he has not only from officials of government but from members of Philippine society.”

The CBCP said it supports the creation of a credible Truth Commission or a fact-finding body to find out the truth about the tragedy.

Villegas has some words of advice for Aquino. He said: “The President of the Republic, the CBCP prays, should have learned from this regrettable tragedy that transparency and forthrightness are what are expected of him at all times. It will serve him well to listen to sound advice and counsel from truly wise, and not from those eager to curry favor! He has been roundly criticized for having absented himself at the arrival honors for the mortal remains of our heroes. He will, in the future, we hope, make better balanced choices and conduct himself as his high office demands. We pray that in all humility he would willingly accept just criticism rather than have his spokespersons concoct excuses at every turn.”
I share the prayer.

Celebrities show conscience and heart for the 44 SAF heroes

February 3, 2015February 3, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

apl.de.ap leads a rousing tribute to the 44 SAF heroes.

Wearing black arm bands emblazoned with “44”, apl.de.ap of the international hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas and one of the judges of The Voice PH, led the performance of one the group’s hits, “Where is the Love?” in last Sunday’s episode of the singing competition.

The lyrics were sharply apt: “Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism/But we still got terrorists here livin’….

“Madness is what you demonstrate/And that’s exactly how anger works and operates/…
“Father, Father, Father help us/Send some guidance from above/’Cause people got me, got me questionin’/Where is the love (Love)…

“Makin’ wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends/Not respectin’ each other, deny thy brother/
A war is goin’ on but the reason’s undercover…

“The truth is kept secret, it’s swept under the rug/If you never know truth then you never know love/
Where’s the love, y’all, come on (I don’t know)”

Click here to view performance: http://entertainment.abs-cbn.com/tv/shows/thevoiceseason2/videos/2015/02/01/be-where-is-the-love-by-apl-de-ap-abra-looney-ka-rit-le-nino-jason-f-monique-daryl-suy

Apl said the performance was a tribute to the 44 Special Action Force commandos who were killed in an operation to arrest terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias ”Marwan” and Basit Usman in Mamasapano, Maguindanao by combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

It was a powerful and moving performance which showed that behind the garishness of showbusiness, there are those who have their conscience and heart in the right place.

Social media was also a venue for celebrities with substance to express their condolences for the 44 fallen heroes and disgust over the way the Aquino government handled, rather mishandled, the operation and its aftermath.

Movie director Joey Reyes deep sorrow was felt in his Facebook posts: “My heart bleeds for the loved ones of those who yielded their lives in uniform, images of their bodies mangled on the muddy ground as they expired helpless and outnumbered.

“My being rages at the ineptitude, clumsiness, stupidity and lies, lies, lies that are shoved down my throat under the guise of explanation and demented logic.

“Like so many, I love my country but I am outraged by this perfidy.”

Movie and TV star Judy Ann Santos posted in Twitter her disappointment over President Aquino’s decision to attend the inauguration of a Mitsubishi Motors plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna instead of being on hand to honor the 44 when their remains arrived at the Villamor Air Base.

Judy Ann Santos’ loaded tweet: Just saying… Obama knows his priorities.

Malacañang said the arrival honors for the 44 was not in the schedule of Aquino. As if one schedules a tragedy.

Juday posted the 2011 dramatic photo of U.S. President Obama President Obama arriving at Dover Air Force Base after he cancelled his schedule to condole with families of the 30 Americans that died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Juday’s one-line photo caption was most eloquent: ““Just saying…Obama knows his priorities.”

A certain Ellah de Castro scored Juday: “Unfollowed. Wrong move.Ang isang public personality ay di dapat nagpo-post ng patama against sa ibang tao lalo na sa Presidente ng Bansa. Kung me opinion kang ganyan, sarilinin mo na lang. Di mo naisip magko-cause pa yan ng issue! Epal tawag jan.”

Juday stood her ground. She told de Castro: “I respect your opinion. Lahat tayo ay nagbabayad ng buwis. Kaya lahat tayo ay may karapatang magbigay ng sarilinng opinion at saloobin sa mga bagay na goyerno ang involved. You might want to check other accounts of othe r public figures as well. We all share the same sentiments. Tao lang kami. Kaya may karapatan kaming sabihin kung ano ang naramdaman naming. It is an issue already to begin with.”

Presidential sister Kris Aquino unfriended Judy Ann, reports said.

Who makes more sense?

Grace Lee, the Korean TV personality whom the President once dated, joined Aquino’s critics.

Commenting on Aquino supporter Leah Navarro’s neither here-nor-there tweet “So how many of those people who dissed the President’s absence from Villamor where actually there to condole?”, Lee posted, “There is only one head of the state. Only one commander in chief! You CANNOT compare the value of his presence to the presence of any ordinary citizen then use it against them when they voice out their frustration and anger!!”

The statement of former Tourism Secretary and Miss International Gemma Cruz was through the classic poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” written by Lord Alfred Tennyson in 1854 about the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!/ Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew/ Someone had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply/ Theirs not to reason why/
Theirs but to do and die/Into the valley of Death/ Rode the six hundred.”

Yes, someone had blundered.