BOI: PNoy allowed Purisima participation, bypassed PNP chain of command

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III gave his direct approval for the execution of "Operation Plan Exodus" on January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that led to the neutralization of top Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir and the killing of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members.

“The President gave the go-signal and allowed the execution of Oplan Exodus after the concept of operations was presented to him by Director of Special Action Force (SAF) Police Director Getulio Napeñas,” read a portion of the 120-page report of the police Board of Inquiry on the Mamasapano incident.

The board, chaired Director Benjamin Magalong, submitted the report on Thursday after a month-long inquiry into the Mamasapano incident, which involved scrutinizing over 400 affidavits and several documents.

The BOI cited the role of Aquino, as commander-in-chief, in the operation but the body was short of any recommendations on the President's liability.

The BOI also said in the report that Aquino allowed the participation of then suspended PNP chief Purisima and bypassed the chain of command of the PNP hierarchy.

Napeñas earlier revealed in his testimonies at the Senate that he, along with resigned Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima and Intelligence Group director Senior Superintendent Jojo Mendez presented the mission update on the operation plan to President Aquino last January 9.

Napeñas said that during the meeting, Purisima told him to keep Interior and Local Government Secretaru Mar Roxas and PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina out of the loop, and inform them only "time-on-target."

After the meeting, Napeñas also recalled Purisima as telling him that he will be the one to take care of informing Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang about the operations, also "time-on-target."

“The President allowed the participation of the suspended Chief Philippine National Police (CPNP) Police Director General Alan Purisima in the planning and execution of the Oplan Exodus despite the suspension order of the Ombudsman,” the report said.

The report added: “While the President has the prerogative to deal directly with any of his subordinates, the act of dealing with Napeñas instead of OIC-PNP Espina bypassed the established PNP Chain of Command.”

Bases on the Manual for PNP Fundamental Doctrine, the PNP BOI investigators noted that the chain of command runs upward and downward.

The PNP manual requires the commander to discharge his responsibilities through a Chain of Command, the BOI report cited.

Apart from the roles of President Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas in the Mamasapano incident, members of the BOI also looked into the voluminous operations reports, after-operations report, PNP Crime Laboratory reports, affidavits of SAF commandos involved in the operations and the testimonies of key personalities.

They also reviewed the mechanisms implemented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines at the height of request for reinforcements and the actions taken by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front representatives to the Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities on January 25.

The BOI also stated that the United States military's role was limited to intelligence build-up and that it did not participate in the actual operation.