Noy holds 3-hour bull session with SAF

MANILA, Philippines - For three and a half hours yesterday, the Special Action Force (SAF) troopers, particularly those involved in the Mamasapano operation, finally had a bull session with President Aquino to discuss their concerns and needs, something they failed to do the first time the Chief Executive tried to talk to them after the bloody encounter.

The atmosphere was lighter at the SAF quadrangle while some officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and SAF, along with troopers, waited for the program to start supposedly at 10:35 a.m.

It has been more than a month since the incident. This was in contrast to the meeting of the President with SAF troopers on Jan. 30 during the memorial services for the 44 police commandos killed in a firefight with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25.

Emotions were running high at the time, five days after the deadly clash. Thus, when Aquino asked the troopers to tell him what was on their minds, there was only stone cold silence.

The President urged them to communicate through letters and whatever means and gave assurance that his door would always be open if they wanted to talk.

But yesterday, the 10 a.m. meeting of the President with the SAF troopers of Mamasapano, along with the entire PNP-SAF Command and the rest of the PNP leadership, lasted until 1:30 p.m.

Sources said the discussions on the Jan. 25 operation were still emotional because some of them felt Director Getulio Napeñas, their former commander, should not have been relieved and made responsible for what happened.

Aquino witnessed the assumption ceremony for the new SAF commander, Chief Supt. Moro Virgilio Lazo, who replaced Chief Superintendent Noli Taliño, who served as commander in an acting capacity after the relief of Napeñas.

Aquino no longer delivered a speech during the assumption ceremony.

The sources said most of the discussions were focused on the system of promotion, hazard pay, equipment, benefits, training and even antiquated bullets the SAF troopers were using during operations, among other concerns.

Sources added the President explained to SAF troopers the context of his text messages with suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima.

He told the SAF troops that he took the text messages from Purisima as facts, having known and been familiar with the former PNP chief.

The President also denied he issued any order for them to stand down during the clash, the sources added.

During the meeting, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said there was a review of the Mamasapano operation as this was essential in identifying points for improvement in the conduct of similar operations.

He said the President emphasized the importance of rebuilding the capability of SAF as an elite unit of the PNP on account of the vital role it was performing.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II told reporters the same issues concerning SAF troopers.

Roxas said the President asked the PNP and the Presidential Management Staff to study the issues raised by the SAF.

Roxas said the President gave the PNP and National Police Commission 30 days to submit recommendations to his office.

Roxas added the President tasked Lazo to boost the morale of the SAF troopers if needed and “heal the wounds” caused by the Mamasapano operation.

“The SAF troopers stressed that ‘we got our man, we accomplished our mission’ and the President said nobody was questioning that. Marwan was a threat to the whole nation and the innocent Filipinos and while he had been wanted for a long time, the President recognized that SAF was the one who got him,” Roxas said, referring to Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, the object of the mission who was killed during the operation.

According to Roxas, the police commandos also tackled with the President their lack of rotation and being on red alert status 100 percent of the time, unlike the rest of the PNP.

Being on red alert 24/7 means SAF troops do not get the chance to take a leave, vacation or a “stand down,” Roxas said.

Roxas disclosed the President asked the PNP to study the matter and reorganize the SAF if needed, to make sure the police commandos would have a system of rotation that would allow some to be on red alert while the others were on training or resting.

He explained the case was the same for the elite Joint Special Operations Group (JSOG) of the Armed Forces where “there is always a unit on deck” while others are on training.

Roxas said the President decided to meet with the SAF troopers, being “the premier strike force” of the PNP and which was very important to law enforcement.

He pointed out delicate or dangerous missions could not be passed on to the AFP instantly because its mandate was just to attain the objective of law enforcement.

Roxas also dismissed questions about what he felt when he was not informed about the operation and denied he had heated arguments with Aquino at the height of the Mamasapano controversy.

‘Vanguards of peace’

Lazo, for his part, rallied his men to continue being “vanguards of peace.”

After the Mamasapano incident hampered the peace process, Lazo reminded his unit of its role in securing the land.

“Together, united and as one, let us continue to affirm our commitment to be vanguards of peace. May the force be with us all,” he told the police troops.

Lazo, who was with the SAF for several years, said he was “grateful, honored and humbled” to head the elite group.

“[The SAF] has always been close to my heart. To my brothers and sisters in the SAF family, I am so elated to be back home, excited to work again with you,” he said.

The military, for its part, has been asked to donate P30 from their subsistence allowance to the families of the slain 44 SAF troopers.

– With Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mike Frialde