THE House of Representatives’ Makabayan Bloc on Monday sent a letter to the chairmen of the Committees on Public Order and Safety and on Peace, Unity and Reconciliation reiterating the motion to invite President Aquino on their joint hearings on the Mamasapano carnage on April 7 and 8.
In its March 30 letter addressed to Committee on Public Order and Safety Chairman and United Negros Alliance Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer of Negros Occidental, and Committee on Peace, Unity and Reconciliation Chairman and Liberal Party Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman of Basilan, the bloc said it wants President Aquino to answer 20 questions, which, according to it, were not answered in the Senate and National Police-Board of Inquiry (BOI) reports.
The bloc includes Party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers, Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis, Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela and Terry Ridon of Kabataan.
A total of 66 people, including 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF), 17 Moro rebels and five civilians were killed in the January 25 incident.
The group said there are many questions on the Mamasapano gun battle that only Mr. Aquino can answer, including:
Why did you authorize or allow the participation of then-National Police chief Alan Purisima in Oplan Exodus even though you were fully aware that he was already suspended at that time?
If he were only an “expert adviser,” why did you say that you ordered him to coordinate with National Police Officer in Charge [Deputy Director General Leonardo] Espina and Armed Forces Chief of Staff [Gen. Gregorio Pio] Catapang and that he did not follow said order?
Why didn’t you, as the Commander in Chief, direct Espina and Catapang to support the SAF, instead of delegating the task to a suspended official?
When you let a suspended official head an operation, received reports from him, and ordered the SAF director [Director Getulio Napeñas] to report to him, did you not violate the chain of command?
Did you not violate the suspension order issued by the Ombudsman against Purisima when you allowed the latter to head the operation?
What did you and Purisima talk about during the January 9 meeting at Bahay Pangarap, after Napeñas left and before Purisima told Napeñas, “Sabihan mo na ang dalawa [referring to Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Espina] kapag nandoon na. Ako na ang bahala kay Catapang?”
How many times did you text Purisima and other officials about the operation on Mamasapano? What are the contents of these messages, if any? Was there an instance that you made voice calls to Purisima and other officials on the matter? We also request for the transcripts of these voice calls.
You said that you were irked at Purisima because you could not make sense of his conflicting texts. Why did you not call him to clarify matters? Why did you not call other officials such as General Catapang and military generals involved in the rescue, or even Secretary Roxas or General Espina to know what was happening?
Earlier, the Palace said Mr. Aquino is open to face the House’s Mamasapano investigation.
But Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., an administration ally, citing the separation of powers of the three branches of government, said that the leadership has no intention of inviting President Aquino to its inquiry.