Malacañang hoped that justice will finally come for the 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) as the country commemorated the fifth year of the deadly Mamasapano clash Saturday.
In a statement for the observance of the Day of National Remembrance, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Palace continues to pray for the eternal repose of the SAF troopers who perished in the operation and hoped that justice will finally come.
“We continue to pray for the eternal repose of the souls of these valorous men in uniform who were recipients posthumously of the PNP Medal of Valor (Medalya ng Kagitingan) and hope that justice will finally come to give closure to these officers and their grieving families,” he said Saturday.
“As we recall the tragedy that befell the PNP officers in Mamasapano, Maguindanao and pay homage to the bravery and heroism of the 44 members of the Special Action Force, collectively known as the Fallen SAF 44, let us learn and reflect from the mistakes of this botched police operation that it will never happen again,” he added.
The Mamasapano clash, a police operation codenamed Oplan Exodus, was an operation at Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, by the PNP-SAF against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Oplan Exodus was intended to capture or kill wanted Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker Zulkifli Abdhir and other Malaysian terrorists or high-ranking members of the BIFF.
Duterte earlier questioned the lack of air support during the Mamasapano clash which resulted in the death of 44 SAF troopers in an encounter with the rebels two years ago.
In February 2017, Duterte, through Proclamation No. 164, declared January 25 of every year as the day of national remembrance for the heroic sacrifice of SAF 44.
“I ask all our countrymen to remember the heroism of the SAF 44 and recall the daily sacrifices of our uniformed personnel for the sake of continued peace and security of our Nation,” Duterte said.
In November 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman, then led by Conchita Carpio-Morales, filed graft and usurpation of authority charges against former President Benigno Aquino III. However, President Duterte said that the cases filed against Aquino will not fly as the Office of the Ombudsman was filing all the wrong charges against his predecessor.
“The President can call anybody to help him fight a criminal operation there. And he was not using the administrative talent. He was just asking for the advice from a professional police. I did not see anything wrong there,” Duterte said.
However, in June 2019, Ombudsman Samuel Martires moved to withdraw the cases filed against Aquino, saying he found no sufficient ground and evidence to charge the former chief executive for graft and usurpation of official functions. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
