Palace won’t meddle on petition to re-open Mamasapano homicide raps vs Aquino

November 10, 2019

Malacanang on Sunday said it would not interfere on the possible re-opening of the dismissed homicide charges filed against former President Benigno Aquino III over the 2015 Mamasapano incident.

“We will not interfere with a co-equal branch of government as well as constitutional bodies. Let the rule of law prevail. Whatever the law is, we will follow,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said over Radyo Inquirer.

Panelo made the statement after the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) on Friday filed a motion for re-investigation on the Mamasapano tragedy before the Office of the Ombudsman.

The group, now accompanied by former Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, was asking Ombudsman Samuel Martires to re-evaluate the pieces of evidence it presented, including Magalong's affidavit.

Magalong led the probe into the bloody Mamasapano clash.

According to the Board of Inquiry (BOI) report he released, the chain of command of the PNP was violated after Aquino, former PNP chief Alan Purisima and former Special Action Force (SAF) director Getulio Napeñas Jr. kept the information about the operation to themselves.

It added that Aquino gave the “go-signal” for the Oplan Exodus despite Purisima's suspension and they failed to inform the officer-in-charge that time who was then Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina about the operation.

The Oplan Exodus against terrorist Zulkipli Bin Hir alias “Marwan” resulted to the death of 44 SAF troopers. Marwan was also killed in the operation.

The Supreme Court earlier affirmed the decision of then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to dismiss the reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide charges against Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas. Morales instead filed the Information for the crime of usurpation of authority, a lesser offense, against Aquino. But Martires, who succeeded Morales, decided to withdraw the Information, which the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court granted.

The high court's ruling in affirming Morales' decision was, however, without prejudice to the findings of Martires, who might file a new case against Aquino and others before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court. Ella Dionisio/DMS