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BY LUIS BUENAFLOR JR.
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Justice for the fallen SAF44?
HAS CHANGE finally come and the grieving widows, sons and daughters of the fallen SAF44 will get the justice that has so long been denied to them by former President BS Aquino?
Just to refresh your memory as most natives of this archipelago seems to have a short one, the fallen SAF 44 are the troopers of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force sent by the then Commander-in-Chief President BS Aquino on a mission only to be massacred by the combine forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao two years ago.
That botched mission came to be known as the Mamasapano Massacre.
Now, two years after the Mamasapano Massacre and in President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, will the fallen SAF 44 finally get the justice they so richly deserved?
Will those responsible for sending these SAF troopers to their untimely death be finally made to pay for their incompetence?
It seems that there is now a light at the end of the tunnel as the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of charges against former President BS Aquino, former Chief PNP Alan Purisima and former SAF Director Getulio Napeñas.
From a July 14 news story of Inquirer.net, here are some excerpts:
“The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted former President Benigno Aquino III for usurpation of authority and graft over his alleged hand in the botched 2015 Mamasapano operation that cost the lives of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) cops.
“In a statement Friday, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has ordered the filing of criminal charges against Aquino for his liability in the Mamasapano massacre.
“In her resolution resolution a copy of which was obtained by Inquirer, Ombudsman Morales ordered the filing of charges against Aquino for Usurpation of Authority (Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code) and violation of Section 3 (a) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).
“Aquino may still file a motion for reconsideration on the Ombudsman’s indictment against him for usurpation of authority and graft.
“The Ombudsman found probable cause to file charges against Aquino ‘in conspiracy’ with dismissed Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima and sacked Director Getulio Napeñas of the Special Action Force (SAF).
“‘Wherefore, the Office of the Ombudsman finds probable cause against Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III … in conspiracy with Alan Purisima and Getulio Napeñas. Let the appropriate informations be filed with the proper court,’ Morales ruled.
“The Ombudsman, however, dismissed the reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and physical injuries filed against Aquino, Purisima and Napeñas. The charges were filed against them by relatives of the SAF troopers who were killed in the botched ‘Oplan Exodus’ operation.
“Ombudsman Morales said she is dismissing the reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and physical injuries filed against Aquino for his alleged hand in the slay of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) police officers, who were killed in a firefight during the anti-terror raid.”
That move by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, however, opened a can of worms and speculations that this was a prelude to dismiss and clear former President BS Aquino from his liabilities on the Mamasapano Massacre.
From Manila Times’ July 15 issue:
“The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) has renewed its demand against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to resign or be slapped with an impeachment complaint for ‘downgrading’ the charges against former President Benigno Aquino III in connection with the Mamasapano massacre two years ago.
“During a forum in Quezon City on Saturday, VACC chairman Dante Jimenez scored Morales’ ‘selective justice’ over her recent order to indict Aquino for usurpation of authority and graft instead of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide in relation to the deaths of 44 police commandos in the hands of Muslim insurgents in January 2015.
“‘We feel…that this is an orchestrated design to eventually whitewash and scrap the case against the former president Aquino. That’s how our lawyers [in the VACC] see, that’s how the families of the victims feel,’ Jimenez told reporters.
“‘That’s why Ombudsman Morales has shown selective justice that’s why we ask her, she either resigns or we will proceed with the impeachment complaint that our lawyers have been preparing for a long time,’ he added.”
The natives wanted the head of former President BS Aquino and it seems that Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales is protecting it.
Moi feels that at the end of the day, if they don’t whitewash the case, seeing former President BS Aquino in jail is good enough and will probably make a lot of natives happy. Who knows, there might be dancing in the streets. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
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