Lack of AFP reinforcement blamed for SAF deaths

MANILA, Philippines - Sacked Special Action Force (SAF) commander Director Getulio Napeñas blamed yesterday late military reinforcement for the deaths of 44 elite police officers during operations last month to get bomb experts Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Abdul Basit Usman in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Testifying before the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, Napeñas also expressed his frustration that many of their operations did not go well once the military or local officials had been informed beforehand.

With nine out of 10 operations that went awry, Napeñas said the police’s seeming distrust of the military was due to the apparent leak of information before their “jump off.”

He said during Oplan Wolverine, the plan was aborted after the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army withdrew its commitment to provide mechanized brigade units to support their operations.

Napeñas provided senators a picture of how the military failed to provide immediate reinforcements despite his calls for assistance during Oplan Exodus that led to the killing of Marwan but resulted in the death of 44 Special Action Force commandos.

“Had the artillery support we requested arrived on time, the situation would have been entirely different,” he said.

“Though I admit, I may not have guaranteed zero-casualty on our part but the very least, had the artillery support arrived hours earlier, the number of casualties would have been lesser than the actual figure we suffered,” he added.

Napeñas stressed that SAF commandos were more than prepared for the operation to arrest Marwan and Usman.

During his testimony at the Senate, Napeñas paid tribute to the SAF elite forces for “mission accomplished.”

“Only that it happened with a high price: the lives of our 44 brave young men. Our heroes. Our Tagaligtas,” he said.

He said his speech was his “salute to the noble and gallant warriors” of the SAF.

At the hearing, Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang said the military was unable to send the artillery support at once because of lack of coordination.

Catapang maintained that they wanted to make sure before launching an air attack that innocent people are not killed. He also argued that they were careful that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) might think “we are back to war.”

Asked if the AFP’s hands were tied because of the peace process mechanisms, Catapang said the military’s role was mainly to extricate the SAF commandos.

He then said there were attempts to reinforce the besieged police but they failed to get in at once because of the lack of information on the commandos’ exact location.