Noy won’t step down over SAF deaths – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Saying he has a mandate to finish his term, President Aquino has made clear he is not giving in to calls for his resignation for a police operation that left 44 commandos dead in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last month.

“The President has a sworn duty to fulfill and he is doing it in the most judicious and prudent way,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in Filipino yesterday.

Aquino’s six-year term ends in June next year. He won in the May 2010 presidential elections when he was three years into his term as senator.

Several quarters, including bishops and civil society groups, have been calling on Aquino to resign, citing his incompetence as well as his disregard for the chain of command that they said led to the deaths of 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) at the hands of Muslim guerrillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) last Jan. 25.

The MILF said the clash between its men and the SAF commandos was a “misencounter.”

Coloma said Aquino is determined to finish his job as he had promised the nation. “And he is determined to be of service to the people up to the last day of his term,” he said.

Sens. Francis Escudero and Joseph Victor Ejercito also balked at calls for the President’s resignation.

Escudero said people demanding Aquino’s resignation should at least wait for the results of the ongoing investigation into the Mamasapano carnage.

“In fact, we don’t even know yet what really happened. P-Noy should take steps to bring those who are responsible before the bar of justice while pursuing peace at the same time. Peace with justice,” Escudero said.

“Even if I come from the opposition I do not think P-Noy resigning or even removing him from office right now will be good for the nation,” Ejercito said.

A son of former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, Ejercito said Aquino’s resignation would only heighten divisiveness and create political instability.

“Since he only has over a year left in his term, we might as well let him finish. I just hope that P-Noy will shape up, be more sensitive and have empathy towards the end of his term,” Ejercito added.

Keep off politics

His father, meanwhile, chided some bishops for calling for Aquino’s resignation, saying they should stay out of politics and respect the separation of church and state as enshrined in the Constitution.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, Estrada said that instead of intervening in purely government matters, the clergy should concentrate on ministering to the faithful and spreading the gospel.

He was reacting to statements issued by Batangas Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo de la Cruz that Aquino quit the presidency for alleged incompetence.

“Let the people, not the bishops or priests, decide. There is a separation of the church and state in the Constitution,” Estrada said.

He said he had also been a victim of machinations by the clergy then led by the late Cardinal Jaime Sin who helped his detractors and enemies remove him from Malacañang.

“They should concentrate on their duties and help the poor people, like what Pope Francis said, instead of instigating the people to go against the government,” he said.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also dismissed calls for the President’s resignation over the Mamasapano incident, as he urged bishops not to meddle in politics.

“I think bishops should not be interfering in politics. They should focus on saving souls,” Belmonte said.

Arguelles said Aquino should step down and make way for someone who could do better as president.   

“He should step down and make way for a different and new government. I am calling for a revolution, but not a bloody revolution. If they don’t want to get out, let the people go to the streets,” Arguelles said in an earlier interview with ABS-CBN.

Arguelles also chided Aquino for issuing a statement that he would launch more attacks in Maguindanao.

“There were already 44 deaths and then he wants to make an attack. What does he want? More deaths to come,” Arguelles said.

For De la Cruz, Aquino’s alleged incompetence should be enough reason for the Chief Executive to resign.

“I ask that he (Aquino) should step down. He is not competent enough to run the affairs of the government,” De la Cruz said.      

He also said the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is not enough to solve the conflict in Mindanao.

He said the government must also pursue peace with other Muslim groups like the Tausugs, the Maranaos and other Muslim clans.

“All Muslim groups will have talks to the government. There must be a peace agreement between the government and the Tausugs. There must be a peace agreement between the government and the Maranaos and the other Muslim clans in Basilan,” De la Cruz said.

The Visayan bloc in the House led by Negros Occidental Rep. Alfred Benitez, meanwhile, opposed the resignation calls and sought accountability from those who planned the botched operations.

Facts first

While some clergy harbor animosity toward Aquino, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it would like to see the President pray first for discernment and judiciousness so he can effectively tackle the country’s problems, including public indignation for his handling of the Mamasapano incident.

CBCP president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement yesterday that the group cannot yet make a collective position on calls for Aquino’s resignation at least until after the investigation into the Mamasapano incident.

“We do not yet have all the facts, however. In fact, we have been given conflicting accounts of what really happened. But one thing should be clear: We must not lay the blame on those who already paid the ultimate sacrifice by laying down their lives for they were never in a position to command but, true to the culture of the police and of the military, stood ready to receive orders,” the CBCP head said. – With Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano, Eva Visperas, Aie Balagtas See, Rhodina Villanueva, Paolo Romero