EDITORIAL – The main issues remain

It appears that President Benigno Aquino and his supporters are going to great lengths to deflect accusations that the President, as commander-in-chief, has ultimate responsibility over the January 25 incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that resulted in the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) men, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members, and at least seven civilians. The latest is that Mr. Aquino has expressed dismay that he had been “lied to” by then-suspended (and now resigned) Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purusima during the operation itself, giving him incomplete and even misleading information that ultimately influenced the decisions that he had to make on that fateful day.
For example, the President told members of Congress, he had been made to believe that the SAF forces, after successfully neutralizing alleged Malaysian terrorist Marwan, had the support of the Army in battling with armed groups that had come to respond. This turned out to be false because the supposed mechanized brigade and artillery of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) could not be mobilized that easily, especially since they were being called upon late in the day, without prior coordination. Mr. Aquino said because he had been misinformed, he did not take necessary steps to expedite the backup’s movement, leaving the SAF men literally on their own in the gun battle.
That may all be true, and the President may feel a sense of betrayal from his most trusted general, but the main issues remain. In the first place, why was Purisima directing the operation when he was suspended at the time? This fact can no longer be denied, and even the President intimated this when he revealed that he was getting his information from Purisima, not from Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina who taken over his place. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, why was there no coordination with the MILF and even with the AFP? The President must still address these questions if the incident is to be resolved. Being lied to by Purisima does not relieve him of responsibility because there are more fundamental issues that need to be addressed, and only he can provide closure.