BOI on Purisima, Junjun Binay, Pacquiao-Mayweather face-off | The wRap

Today on Rappler:

• The police’s board of inquiry on the Mamasapano clash reports resigned chief Purisima ‘acted without authority.’
• Makati Mayor Junjun Binay refuses to step down.
• Boxers Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather face off in a press conference in Los Angeles.

POLICE PROBERS: PURISIMA ACTED WITHOUT AUTHORITY
The Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry or BOI submits its report on the Mamasapano clash Thursday.
Its findings? Resigned police chief Alan Purisima acted without authority.
Purisima was serving a preventive suspension order from the Ombudsman early December 2014 over graft charges…
when he played a key role in the operation.
Purisima was briefed by the Special Action Force or SAF early January 2015 and also sat in a January 9 briefing at Bahay Pangarap, President Benigno Aquino’s official residence in Malacañang.
The report adds, approval for the operation should have come from acting police chief Leonardo Espina.
Espina was not involved in the planning of the operation and only learned about “Oplan Exodus” in the morning of January 25.
when SAF troopers were already in the thick of battle with Muslim rebels.
BOI Chief Benjamin Magalong says the BOI is ready to present the report to the public upon Interior Secretary Mar Roxas’ go-signal.
“Oplan Exodus” is the bloodiest one-day operation in PNP history and the biggest crisis in the Aquino administration.

MAKATI MAYOR BINAY: ‘I’M NOT LEAVING’
Makati Mayor Junjun Binay refuses to step down.
Binay defies the suspension order from the Ombudsman and refuses to leave Makati city hall.
Binay says he will stay “as long as necessary.”
His father Vice President Jejomar Binay was in the same situation in 2006, when he was issued a two-month suspension order over alleged ghost employees.
The older Binay barricaded himself in the city hall and refused to step down, resulting in a 3-day stand-off with authorities.
Binay urges the Interior Department to respect his appeal, saying the corruption allegations against him don’t even warrant a 6-month suspension.
He adds, the suspension order is politically motivated.

16 SENATORS ASK ANTI-GRAFT COURT: SHOW ENRILE ‘COMPASSION’
Senator Tito Sotto requests anti-graft court Sandiganbayan to show “judicial compassion” to detained Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
Sotto seeks house arrest for Enrile, who has been confined at the Makati Medical Center for two weeks after contracting pneumonia.
15 other senators back Sotto’s appeal, with him saying they “expressed conformity with the intent and tenor of his speech.”
The only senators who didn’t sign the appeal are Enrile’s rivals: Senators Miriam Santiago, Alan Cayetano, Pia Cayetano,  Antonio Trillanes, and Koko Pimentel.

‘AQUINO CABINET LIKE A FRATERNITY’
Walden Bello resigned as representative of Akbayan, a party-list group that belongs to the ruling coalition.
Akbayan campaigned for President Benigno Aquino in the 2010 presidential race.
Bello says Aquino’s Cabinet is run “like a fraternity” where “loyalties, rather than competence” were more important.

WALDEN BELLO, AKBAYAN REPRESENTATIVE: This is why I have constantly raised in the last few days the fact that this is running the cabinet like a fraternity where it’s loyalty that counts and not competence and not integrity.

He adds, Aquino’s flaws began to erode his platform of good governance.

WALDEN BELLO, AKBAYAN REPRESENTATIVE: Good governance is not just about corruption… that’s a very important part but it’s about competence all about the way you manage your cabinet and allies and that I think has unraveled, and for me it’s sad because I started out with high hopes

The former activist says the last straw was the President’s speech earlier this week blaming sacked police general Getulio Napeñas for the Mamasapano tragedy.

PACQUIAO, MAYWEATHER FACE OFF IN PRESSCON
Champion boxers Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather face off in a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday or early Thursday morning Manila time.
Pacquiao and Mayweather will take part in the fight of the century on May 2 at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas.
This is the only time the boxers face each other until fight week.
Despite years of animosity, the two were cordial, with no heated words exchanged.
Mayweather has his eye on the prize, saying this is a fight the world can’t miss.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR, PROFESSIONAL BOXER: My job is just to go out there and be Floyd Mayweather, stay focused on the positive things, do what I do best, just go out there and win.

Pacquiao is confident he’ll be able to penetrate his foe’s defense and promises fans a good show.
But before the press conference Pacquiao said Mayweather is afraid of losing.
Mayweather has an unblemished record of 47 wins and no losses.

MANNY PACQUIAO, PROFESSIONAL BOXER: He has a good defense, but I’m not worried about that. I can easily break that defense.

Promoters and coaches are just as excited for the bout.
Stephen Espinoza of Showtime says many were skeptical about the possibility of the fight, but organizers were optimistic it would happen because Mayweather stayed true to his word – that he will eventually fight Pacquiao.

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, SHOWTIME SPORTS: Excited, proud, thrilled. There are countless adjectives to describe our feelings about this event, but surprised is not one of them. No, we’re not at all surprised this fight was made.

Pacquiao’s coach Freddie Roach minces no words.
He says Pacquiao is up to the task of beating Mayweather.

FREDDIE ROACH, BOXING COACH: This is the biggest challenge of my life, it’s finally here, it’s finally in front of me. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long, long time. We’re fighting the best fighter in the world, and we’re gonna kick his ass.

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