Palace downplays police threat of mass leave

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang expressed confidence yesterday that Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and the Philippine National Police leadership were in control amid calls to undertake protest actions against President Aquino over the death of 44 PNP commandos in Maguindanao.

Reports said the Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association (PNPAAA) planned to urge its 4,000 graduates in the field to go on leave if the slain Special Action Force (SAF) troopers do not get justice.

The Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO) also reportedly said the government must do more to give justice to the 44 SAF men who were butchered Sunday in clashes with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters while on a mission to arrest two terror suspects.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said they could understand that emotions were running high, but it would be best to focus on the “bigger picture” and honor the SAF members for carrying out a mission against terrorism.

Malacañang appealed yesterday to the alumni of the PNPA not to push through with their proposed “mass leave.”

PNPAAA chairman Tomas Rentoy III said they would ask PNPA graduates to take a five-day vacation leave. However, he said it would be voluntary.

Coloma added that it would be best to wait for the findings of the Board of Inquiry since the mission against terrorism was complicated and could not be easily explained in an “after event analysis.”

Coloma said the focus was to keep everyone united in the fight against terrorism as well as keep the peace process with the MILF going.

He said the President would continue to communicate with the police officers and make them understand his goals.

Coloma answered “yes” when asked if the President could count on Roxas and acting PNP chief Leonardo Espina to help achieve these objectives.

Coloma said the government was fully determined to find out the truth and the circumstances that led to the death of 44 SAF operatives and injuries to 16 others.

Criminal liabilities

The government is considering the criminal liabilities of MILF rebels behind the killing of the 44 SAF operatives in Maguindanao.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed to The STAR yesterday that possible charges of multiple murder, homicide and other offenses could be filed against MILF members who figured in the clash with the SAF members.

But the justice secretary stressed that the possible filing of charges could not be immediately done pending investigation of the board of inquiry created by the PNP.

De Lima said the government is aware of the cry for justice of the families of the fallen policemen.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, wants to know who was really calling the shots when 392 members of the PNP-SAF went into the lair of the Muslim rebels in Mamasapano last Sunday.

The Senate committee will convene the hearings on Feb. 4.

Sen. Loren Legarda said a probe that would answer all questions about the deadly encounter in Mamasapano is needed to give justice to the victims and would be relevant to the ongoing peace negotiations.

The resolution of the Maguindanao killings rests on the government’s Board of Inquiry and the Special Investigative Commission formed by the MILF, officials said.

Local officials also called for the deployment of more ceasefire monitors in Mamasapano, Datu Piang, Shariff Aguak, Salibo, Shariff Saidona and Datu Saudi towns which are havens of the MILF and the BIFF. – With Christina Mendez, John Unson