‘SAF troopers got Army soldiers drunk before Mamasapano raid’

MANILA, Philippines - Special Action Force (SAF) troopers deliberately excluded the military from the Mamasapano operation by inviting Army officers for a drink on the night the elite police entered the area to arrest wanted terrorists, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said.

Citing information from a Senate executive session, Trillanes said the SAF had wanted to take all the credit for the operation, which led to a fierce firefight that resulted in the death of 44 SAF commandos.

“On the same night the SAF operated, they invited the brigade commander and the battalion commander of the Army for a drink. The intelligence officer of the PNP (Philippine National Police), they invited to a drink,” Trillanes told radio station dzMM on Saturday.

“Their objective is to ensure that the Army would not be able to operate because they want to do the mission alone,” he added.

SAF officials have denied that the policemen involved in the Mamasapano operation were motivated by the juicy rewards.

The police commandos involved in the Jan. 25 operation were targeting Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his Filipino cohort Basit Usman. Marwan carried a $5-million bounty on his head, while a $1-million reward has been offered for Usman.

Marwan was killed during the raid, while Usman managed to escape and is believed to be hiding in Maguindanao.

The mission, however, proved to be costly as 44 SAF members were killed in a clash with the combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups.

The lack of coordination between the military and the police has been blamed for the clash, which erupted as the government and the MILF push for the Bangsamoro Basic Law, a measure that will implement the peace deal they signed last year by creating a new Bangsamoro region in Mindanao with greater economic and political powers.

The Mamasapano clash has created a rift among the military and police as the two institutions have blamed each other for the bloody incident.