Palace disagrees with Senate finding on Purisima

MANILA, Philippines - Proper legal authorities, not the Senate report on the Mamasapano incident, should determine if it was unlawful for then suspended Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima to participate in the bungled January 25 operation, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Palace does not support the Senate finding that "the president must bear responsibility for giving assent to and failing to prevent the unlawful exercise of official functions by PDG Purisima in connection with Oplan Exodus."

"We are not agreeing with the second part of that assertion (unlawful exercise) because that is something that ought to be determined by authorities, by legal authorities," Coloma said in a interview with CNN Philippines.

Coloma said President Aquino has explained that he tapped the now resigned Purisima for the planning of the Mamasapano mission because he had valuable information on the background of previous operations against terror suspects Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan and Basit Usman.

"(Purisima) was a subject matter expert or a resource person in this aspect," Coloma said.

The Senate report said Purisima committed usurpation of authority or official functions when he still participated in the planning of the Mamasapano operation in January even if he was suspended by the Ombudsman in December 2014 over corruption allegations.

The Senate report criticized Purisima for taking charge of the presentation of the updated plan of the Mamasapano mission to President Aquino on January 9 in Malacañang.

"Being on preventive suspension, Purisima should not have been at this meeting, where a highly classified police operation was being discussed. The President should have excluded Purisima from this meeting," the report said.

The Senate report also assailed Purisima for communicating with Aquino and then Special Action Force commander Getulio Napeñas during the Mamasapano operation.

"The acts of Purisima exercising the functions of the Office of the Chief, PNP despite his preventive suspension constitute unlawful behavior. His actions show a clear and manifest intent to defy the preventive suspension order of the Ombudsman," the Senate report said.

According to the report, Purisima violated Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code and may be held administratively liable for grave misconduct under Section 36(b)(4) of Presidential Decree No. 807 in relation to Section 46(A)(3), Rule 10 of the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.

The report added that Purisima should also be held administratively liable for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

He should also be held in indirect contempt by the Ombudsman for "disobedience of or resistance to a lawful writ, process or order" of the anti-graft body, the report said.