Blame Aquino and Purisima, not Napeñas
Judging by what transpired in last Monday's first Senate hearing into the Mamasapano massacre, it should now be very clear to a watching nation who between resigned Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and sacked Special Action Force chief Getulio Napeñas is the true officer and gentleman, who between the two is a real man who would stand up to face a crisis and who would resort to a play on words, if not outright lying, just to save his skin.
The Senate hearing was called to look into what happened on January 25 when teams of the PNP-SAF raiding the hideout of wanted Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, deep inside territory controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters were ambushed by the two rebel groups, resulting in the deaths of 44 of the SAF troopers, many of whom were mutilated, defiled, and otherwise stripped of their dignity.
Like a real man, Napeñas owned up the blame for the tragic outcome of the mission. It was he who gave the order to proceed with the operation. And it was his call that he did not coordinate with the Armed Forces of the Philippines until the mission was already underway, or time on target, as he described it in the language of the military.
But Napeñas had a story to tell, a story much bigger than him and his participation in the incident, a story that everyone needs to hear, and upon hearing necessitates a demand for accountability by everyone else involved, including those higher than Napeñas himself. It is a story that involves Purisima and no less than the president himself, Noynoy Aquino. It is a story that should not start and end with just Napeñas.
Here is the story. The plan to capture or neutralize Marwan was hatched by Napeñas. He had been on the hunt for Marwan longer than most everybody realized. The plan had gone through many starts and stops. But he was not acting alone. From the very beginning, the plan was known to both Aquino and Purisima. Napeñas was just too much of a gentleman, so I will used my own words to put things into context. When Napeñas said Aquino and Purisima knew, I take that to mean approved.
And why do I say approved? Because the three of them – Napeñas, Aquino and Purisima met and discussed the plan over and over in several meetings, in places such as Malacañang and the "White House" in Camp Crame. When Aquino and Purisima met with Napeñas several times over the plan, the only thing that can be inferred from it is that they approved of it. Any fool can see that.
Finally the plan was given the go signal. Again, too much of a gentleman, Napeñas did not say it that way. He merely said that when their final meeting in Malacañang broke up, he was made to go ahead to the door while Aquino pulled Purisima aside. After that Purisima came up to Napeñas and said "Huwag mo munang sabihin sa dalawa (DILG secretary Mar Roxas and PNP OIC Leonardo Espina). Ako na ang bahala kay Catapang (the AFP chief, Gregorio Pio).
My question is this. Why is Napeñas being held to blame for giving the order to attack when the much bigger order to proceed with the plan itself was given by someone much higher, in this case Aquino himself? Remember that of the three who were in on the plan, it is Aquino who is the president and commander-in-chief. Neither Purisima nor Napeñas could go ahead with the plan had not Aquino given it the green light, even if Napeñas is too much of a gentleman to blame his boss.
Confronted with this revelation by Napeñas about the parting words of Purisima after the meeting with Aquino, the one about not telling Roxas and Espina and not to worry about Catapang, Purisima said he did not say it as an order, that he was merely giving an advice to Napeñas. What a piece of chicken liver Purisima is. Any fool can see that when the boss opens his mouth, his words are always an order. I hope Antonio Trillanes can see that too.
And why do I mention Trillanes. Because he ganged up on Napeñas all by himself. He is also too much of a chicken liver to go after his boss Aquino. If Trillanes is truly a man like Napeñas is, why doesn't he go after Aquino? He harassed Napeñas about breaking the chain of command, about taking orders from a suspended official. Has Trillanes forgotten that it was Aquino who brought in Purisima into the picture, suspended as Purisima already was?
When Purisima "advised" Napeñas not to breathe a word of the operation, he was actually ordering Napeñas to do so. Not only that, it was an order/advice that had the blessings of no less than Aquino himself. So why the heck is Napeñas the one being skewered in this mess? The guy was just following orders. And if the orders were infirm or illegal, then shouldn't the ones higher up who gave the orders be the ones taken to task and held to account?
Napeñas already lost 44 of his men. Should he lose his as well? Remember, it is Napeñas who is the hero here, not the villain. The villains are the MILF and the BIFF who, while pretending to talk peace with government, would not hesitate to kills when the opportunity arises. And not just kill but kill savagely, like finishing off the fallen and desecrating their bodies. And he is not to blame. It is Aquino and Purisima who are. They should be the ones to be publicly shamed.
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