6 years after, justice elusive for SAF 44

MANILA, Philippines — The sixth anniversary of the incident in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao that led to the death of 44 elite troopers of the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s Special Action Force (SAF) was marked yesterday, but no one has yet been held accountable for the police operation.

The Fourth Division of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan dismissed in 2019 the cases of graft and usurpation of official functions against former president Benigno Aquino III after Ombudsman Samuel Martires moved for the withdrawal of the charges, citing “insufficient ground and evidence.”

A year later, on Jan. 21, 2020, the Fourth Division also dismissed similar cases against former PNP chief Alan Purisima and former PNP-SAF director Getulio Napeñas Jr., citing the “lack of probable cause” and “insufficiency of the allegations” in the charge sheet.

All the cases stemmed from Aquino’s alleged act of allowing then suspended PNP chief Purisima to participate in the planning and implementation of Oplan Exodus, a police operation aimed to neutralize Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman.

The clash resulted in the death of over 60 people, including 44 members of the PNP-SAF.

Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang had earlier said the usurpation case against Purisima and Napeñas should not have been dismissed by the court.

President Duterte yesterday honored the police commandos who died during the 2015 Mamasapano clash, saying the incident was an “enduring testament” to the “unyielding commitment” of uniformed personnel to fight all threats to national security.

Duterte said the Mamasapano encounter, which he described as a “heartbreaking incident,” serves as a “painful yet necessary reminder to all of us that the struggle for lasting peace comes with a very heavy price.”

“Let us all remember that we have not just lost valiant police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation. On that day, there were also some of us who lost their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, friends, and colleagues whose memories will forever be in their hearts,” the President said in his statement for the sixth anniversary of the Mamasapano clash. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Neil Jayson Servallos, Edith Regalado, Alexis Romero