Still worth dying for

Interior Sec. Mar Roxas recently visited Camp Bagong Diwa for "get-together" of sorts with the men and women of the PNP-SAF. The mood was somber, as they were still mourning the loss of forty-four of their own in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Morale is currently low among the SAF, so the lunch was meant to lift up their spirits. After breaking bread, Sec. Roxas delivered a short speech, asking the question that had he known about the operation, would he have been able to do something that may have lessened, or even prevented the carnage. It is clear that up until today, only Director Getulio Napeñas has been suspended pending an ongoing operation. Only Napeñas has admitted responsibility for the botched operation to get the wanted terrorists.

After the Secretary's speech, the SAF commandos could no longer keep silent. It was obvious that they felt bad about the whole incident, with unanswered questions that have gone on forever. One commando in particular had the most significant and disturbing words to say. That the country is not worth dying for if the government will not even help them. Words one does not want to hear from a law enforcer, or a soldier. How does one respond to that? How does one refute that? How does one rebuke that? One commando even read from a notebook where he wrote down all he felt regarding the matter. According to him, his son wants him to resign, and look for a safer job.

While Sec. Roxas understood the ill feelings and resentment among the PNP-SAF, he also did not want to preempt the findings of the ongoing investigation into that carnage. That it would be best to wait for the official findings of the board of inquiry, and discourages any speculation. We can only hope that the board, and whoever else that will look into the matter, will come up with nothing but the truth. There is widespread apprehension that a whitewash in the offing, to spare those who knew about the operation. This is what the SAF commandos, and the whole country fear at the moment. One head has already rolled, but many do not believe that it ends there.

Indeed, how could Director Napeñas have gone through the operation without the blessing of a superior officer? There is a chain of command in the PNP as in the AFP. An officer that decides alone may be considered a rogue, which is anathema in an institution such as the PNP. Isn't that what Supt. Hansel Marantan did? The fact that the DILG secretary and PNP OIC Gen. Leonardo Espina were kept in the dark just raises so many red flags. The country is one with the Fallen 44, their relatives and the PNP-SAF. We all cry out for an explanation, and more importantly, justice. We need this, for our brave police and soldiers to believe that this country is still worth dying for.

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