Poorly planned and executed
As the Palace waived its right to executive privilege to show that it is transparent, more details have come out in the continuing Senate investigation into the Mamasapano debacle. So the question as to who informed the President about the ongoing operation to capture or kill two wanted international terrorists has been answered. And as has been known all along, it was suspended PNP Director General Alan Purisima, with sacked SAF Chief Gen. Getulio Napeñas following all his orders. Orders, not advice. Gen. Napeñas also finally disclosed that it was indeed Purisima who gave the green light for the operation.
What follows are the text message exchanges between the President and Gen. Purisima. Around 5:45 A.M. of Saturday, Jan. 25, Purisima sends a text message to the President informing him that Marwan had been killed, but the body could not be retrieved because the SAF commandos have already come under fire from 15-20 armed men. They also failed to get Basit Usman, the secondary target. The President responds two hours later asking why they could not neutralize 15-20 armed men, when he was aware that around one hundred sixty SAF commandos were involved in the mission. Why not indeed.
This is when Purisima starts giving unconfirmed reports and updates to the President. He texts that BIFF are now involved in the firefight, but the SAF commandos were already getting artillery and armored support from the AFP. In truth, the cannons remained silent, as the ground commander did not know exactly where to direct fire, owing to the fact that none of the AFP generals were aware there was an ongoing operation. They were in position to help, but could not execute. Then for a good seven hours or so, Purisima then informs the President, again through text, that the SAF sustained heavy casualties.
Many have criticized why text messages were used to provide updates and information on something as important as a search and destroy mission. Many have ridiculed that they did not have enough "load" on their phones to call, providing instant information aside from instantly getting a response. As for the text message exchanges between Purisima, Napeñas and the AFP generals, what happened to radio?
What is clear is that everything wrong that could have been done regarding this mission was indeed done. The operation was kept from the very people who were supposed to be involved or informed. Purisima provided unconfirmed information, putting the President in a bad light as commander-in-chief. Purisima assumed wrongly when he was already asking for support from the AFP. All this tell of a very bad commander, on a very poorly planned and executed mission. Sure, they got Marwan, but at what cost, which could have been prevented. All this, while Purisima was under preventive suspension. My goodness. This is probably a first in the history of police and military operations.
I believe it is time for the Palace to stop circling its wagons around Gen. Purisima. What he has done was unacceptable, no matter how you look at it, resulting in the violent deaths of forty-four SAF commandos. This cannot go unpunished.
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