Senate subpoenas PNoy-Purisima text exchange from telcos

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate issued a subpoena ordering telecommunications companies to bare the exchange of text messages between President Benigno Aquino III and resigned Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima on January 25, the day of the Mamasapano incident.

In an interview with radio dzMM on Tuesday, Senate President Franklin Drilon confirmed that he signed the subpoena in relation to the current investigation of the Senate committee on public order regarding the incident.

During the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano incident last February 23, Purisima revealed the exchange of text messages between him and the President during the day of the bloody encounter between police commandos and Moro guerillas in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

READ: TRANSCRIPT: Text messages of Aquino, Purisima on Oplan Exodus

According to Drilon, the subpoena sent to telecommunication service providers of Aquino and Purisima aims to confirm the statements of the former police chief regarding the operation.

"In effect what we are just doing is to verify the correctness of the statement in order the bottom of the study," Drilon said.

The Senate will use the transcripts from Aquino and Purisima's telcos to finalize its committee report on the incident.

The operation to arrest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, led to the death of 44 police commandos during an encounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano.