2 PNP chiefs? Cops confused

MANILA, Philippines - A number of police officers on field assignments are confused on who they should follow and take orders from as it is now becoming more apparent that there are two chains of command in the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina is the officer-in-charge while Director General Alan Purisima, though suspended, is apparently still a big influence in the national police leadership.

“We are now confused whom to follow because we now have two chiefs in the person of PNP chief Gen. Purisima and Gen. Espina,” said a ranking police ?officer who spoke in behalf of his colleagues.

“We don’t want to be put on the spot just like what happened to our colleague, relieved Special Action Force (SAF) director Gen. Napeñas,” he said.

The police officer was referring to Chief Superintendent Getulio Napeñas, who was relieved of his post following the brutal killing of 44 of his men during a high-level mission to capture two of the world’s most wanted terrorists.

Almost 400 SAF operatives swooped down in a remote village in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in the early morning hours of Jan. 25 to capture Malaysian bomber Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his Filipino cohort Basit Usman.

The group encountered a large guerrilla force of the separatist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) before they were waylaid by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The operation was reportedly planned and executed by SAF commandos headed by Napeñas himself but allegedly under the overall supervision of Purisima with the help of a number of retired military and police generals under the employ of Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa Jr. as head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

Purisima was ordered suspended for six months by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with corruption charges.

Espina, second in command, was designated officer-in-charge of the PNP while Purisima is under suspension.

“It would be difficult for us if we do not follow Purisima. We will be in a difficult situation if he comes back. It would also be difficult if we do not follow the orders of the PNP OIC and the Interior Secretary (Manuel Roxas II). What should we do?” the police official said.

To resolve the problem, the official suggested that all officers who are occupying positions in acting capacity, which he said is now commonly practiced in the PNP, be designated to permanent positions.

For now, he said, they are following two chain of commands. There are some officers loyal to Purisima, and others are with Espina.

Espina and Roxas have admitted that they were not informed about the operation. Espina said he only learned of the botched operation “after the fact.”

Even Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang were left out of the loop.

This was the main reason why Army troops in the area failed to reinforce the trapped SAF commandos, since they were not informed about the operation.

Gazmin, for his part, said there was a high level coordination but it did not reached the troops on the ground in time for them to be prepared to help the beleaguered SAF policemen.

When reinforcement came, the fighting was over and the troops, along with other policemen who were ordered into the combat zone, ended up retrieving the bodies of the 44 slain SAF commandos.

“If one chain of command was observed, the Mamasapano carnage could have been prevented,” the police officers said.

‘Who called the shots?’

On Wednesday, three days after the incident, Aquino admitted on national television knowing about the police operation in Maguindanao.

Aquino though refused to identify who gave the go signal to proceed with the operation.

But Aquino revealed Purisima, before his suspension, was already working on a plan to capture Marwan, who is wanted by the US government with a $5-million bounty on his head.

Lawmakers, for their part, are seeking to find out who should be blamed for the deadly fiasco.

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, said one of the main questions she intends to raise is who was really calling the shots.

Poe said she did not believe that Napeñas was fully responsible for the operation that led to the deaths of 44 of his men.

She pointed out that it is normal among policemen or soldiers to take the blame for whatever mistakes that occur and not to involve anyone else within their ranks.

Poe said Napeñas would be among the resource persons the committee would invite to the hearing into the Mamasapano incident.

Also to be invited are representatives of the MILF and the people behind the crafting of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“I believe the situation is very difficult because we would ask: Who gave you the order? Did you act alone? What are your rules of engagement? What is your chain of command?” Poe said in a recent radio interview.

Poe added she would not invite Purisima yet to this Wednesday’s hearing even though his name has been mentioned repeatedly as among those involved in the operation.

Until Napeñas or someone else comes out and names Purisima as being part of the operation, Poe said she is treating this information as nothing but hearsay at the moment.

Poe said she would agree to an executive session if this will be requested, as long as it can be justified that the issues to be discussed involves national security.

“But I will not agree to an executive session if it is only to protect some personalities in the PNP,” she said.

Other lawmakers, however, blamed Aquino for the deaths of the 44 policemen in the botched operation. – Marvin Sy, Jess Diaz