Napeñas: AFP cannot be trusted with sensitive information

MANILA, Philippines - Two days after another public dressing down from President Aquino for the Mamasapano tragedy, sacked Special Action Force (SAF) chief Director Getulio Napeñas said he opted not to tell the military about the operation during its planning stage as the latter may have already been “compromised” and cannot be trusted with sensitive information.

Napeñas’ lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II, in a radio interview, said the former SAF chief had informed President Aquino about the possibility that sharing advance information with the AFP would undermine the operation.

Napeñas raised his concern during a meeting on Jan. 9 with the President and then suspended police chief Director General Alan Purisima at the Bahay Parangap in Malacañang, where the former SAF chief made a power point presentation.

“Mr. President, with all due respect, the AFP has already been compromised,” Aguirre quoted Napeñas as saying.

Aguirre said the President – in fairness – instructed Napeñas to coordinate with the AFP. “To be fair with the President, he reminded Gen. Napeñas not to forget to coordinate with the AFP but he informed the President of the actual situation,” the lawyer said.

He said Napeñas was referring to missions that had to be aborted “due to leak from the AFP once coordination was made.” Aquino reportedly did not say anything in response to Napeñas.

Since 2010, Napeñas said five operations to arrest the terrorists had been planned.

Three of the operation plans were called “Wolverine,” “Transformer” and “Exodus.” The operation that left scores dead, including 44 SAF members, was part of Oplan Exodus. Napeñas revealed that in all the operations, he had reported only to Purisima.

“At first he was saddened by what happened in the operation but started to feel better and he’s just waiting for the report of the Board of Inquiry, until the pronouncement of President Aquino on Monday,” Aguirre said.

He said after Aquino’s pronouncement last Monday, Napeñas received calls from relatives and friends expressing sympathy and concern.

He said Napeñas would have chosen to keep quiet had the President not derided him on national TV.

Aguirre said Napeñas was worried people might think Aquino’s accusations against him were true.    

“Definitely, definitely, Gen. Napeñas did not lie to the President,” Aguirre told The STAR.

“Gen. Napeñas submitted his cellular phone to the CIDG for forensic analysis. In all 23 pages of transcript, there was no exchange of messages between Gen. Napeñas and the President,” Aguirre said, referring to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

“It’s painful for Gen. Napeñas to hear the President accusing him of deceiving him,” Aguirre said.

Aguirre said Napeñas had detailed in his affidavit the events that transpired during the planning for the SAF operation, including his meeting with Purisima and Sr. Supt. Jojo Mendez of the Intelligence Group at the Bahay Pangarap on Jan. 9.

The lawyer said it was Purisima who called to inform Napeñas of the meeting.

It was immediately after the meeting that he was told by Purisima not to inform PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II about the operation.

Aguirre said anyone in Napeñas’ shoes would take Purisima’s instruction as coming directly from the President.

“Everything here stemmed from the President’s tapping a suspended PNP chief to lead a sensitive operation,” Aguirre said.

Ignoring Purisima

For administration ally Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas, Napeñas should have simply ignored Purisima’s instructions.

“I suppose that Napeñas is an intelligent officer because it doesn’t even take one to be a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy to know that a suspended official has no official authority,” Treñas said. With Jess Diaz, Alexis Romero