Mamasapano clash

Senate probes Mamasapano: What we know so far

Bea Cupin

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Senate probes Mamasapano: What we know so far

EPA

The Senate begins its probe into the Mamasapano operation that killed 68 people. Will some invoke 'executive privilege'?

This compilation was migrated from our archives

Visit the archived version to read the full article.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate on Monday, February 9, begins its probe into one of the bloodiest days in the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s history.

Two weeks ago on January 25, close to 400 troopers from the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) entered Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) territory in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao to arrest bomb-makers Zulkifli bin Hir (alias “Marwan”) and Abdul Basit Usman. (READ: Timeline: Mamasapano clash)

The elite cops managed to kill Marwan but it came at a high price: 68 reportedly died, including 44 troopers from the PNP’s Special Action Force

The January 25 encounter is “the only incidence of a firefight between the Government and MILF forces since the 2011 incident in Al Barka, Basilan,” read the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (GHP-CCH)’s report.

The effects of the clash between government forces, the MILF, and BIFF have created ripples beyond Mamasapano – from questions on the PNP and government’s chain of command to the MILF’s sincerity in talking peace.  

Another hearing is scheduled the next day on Tuesday, February 10. 

Among those expected to attend the Monday hearing are top government officials including Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, relieved PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima, PNP OIC Leonardo Espina, Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff General Gregorio Catapang, Jr., and the lone survivor from the 55th SAF company, Police Officer 2 Christopher Lalan. 


  1. Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa (has not confirmed attendance)
  2. Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles
  3. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin 
  4. National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao (has not confirmed attendance)
  5. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima 
  6. Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II
  7. GPH-Ad Hoc Joint Action Group Chair Brigadier Gen Manolito Orense
  8. Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities and Ad Hoc Joint Action Group Secretariat Head Major Carlos Sol (has not confirmed attendance)
  9. Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities Chairman Brigadier Gen Carlito Galvez, Jr. 
  10. Anti-Terrorism Council of the Philippines chief Undersecretary Natalio Ecarma III
  11. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman
  12. Mamasapano Mayor Datu Tahirudin Ampatuan 
  13. Resigned PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima 
  14. PNP OIC Deputy Dir General Leonardo Espina 
  15. Sacked SAF Commander Police Dir. Getulio Napeñas 
  16. SAF OIC Chief Supt. Noli Taliño (has not confirmed attendance)
  17. Former PNP ARMM chief (ret.) Chief Superintendent Noel delos Reyes (has not confirmed attendance)
  18. ARMM Police Office OIC Senior Supt Noel Armilla (has not confirmed attendance)
  19. Maguinanao Police Chief Senior Supt Rodelio Jocson (has not confirmed attendance)
  20. Police Supt Raymond Train from the SAF 
  21. PO2 Christopher Lalan, lone survivor from the 55th SAF company 
  22. 6ID Philippine Army Commander Major Gen Edmundo Pangilinan 
  23. Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff General Gregorio Catapang Jr. 
  24. Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command Lt General Rustico Guerrero 
  25. UP Diliman Institute of Islamic Studies Dean Professor Julkipli Wadi 
  26. MILF chief negotiator Mhoagher Iqbal (has not confirmed attendance)

As a primer for the February 9 and 10 hearings, and any other possible hearings after, Rappler lists down what we know about the Mamasapano operation based on interviews with sources and public statements by government officials: 

WHO CALLED THE SHOTS?

Now-resigned PNP chief Purisima gave the green-light for the operation in November 2014, or months before he was ordered suspended by the Ombudsman over a corruption case. 

But even before that, in April 2014, SAF officials briefed President Benigno Aquino III, Roxas, Purisima on what would have been “Oplan Wolverine,” the plan to arrest Marwan and Usman.

During that briefing however, they did not discuss the details of the operation such as when or where it would happen. 

The President, in a televised speech held days after the incident, said he instructed sacked SAF commander Police Director Getulio Napeñas to coordinate with other security forces for the operation.  But Aquino did not say when these instructions were given. 

From December 4, 2014 onwards, Purisima should have been hands off. He was, after all, suspended.

Taking over the 150,000-strong PNP was Deputy Director for Operations Deputy Dir Gen Leonardo Espina. 

Espina said did not know of what would eventually be called “Oplan Exodus,” nor did he have access to Purisima’s intelligence package that was used during the operation.

Napeñas told Espina about the operation only after troopers had entered Mamasapano, allegedly under the orders of Purisima. 

Napeñas claimed he was directly reporting to Purisima during the operation. 

But both the President and Purisima said it was ultimately Napeñas who had command responsibility over the operation. 

It will also be curious if Purisima, or any other official, would invoke “executive privilege” in refusing to answer questions from senators. Purisima cited that “privilege” when asked by a TV station on February 6 when he had last spoken to the President. 

The PNP’s Board of Inquiry is almost done collating at least 420 affidavits and testimonies for its investigation into the Mamasapano operation. 

Did the buck really stop with Napeñas? Or did the two-star general get a go-ahead from a higher official?

And even if Purisima wasn’t calling the shots, how did a suspended official still end up in the chain of command for a high-level operation such as “Oplan Exodus?”

WHERE WERE THE REINFORCEMENTS?

The Senate hearing will bring together for the first time the characters from different sides to paint a clearer picture of what happened on January 25.

For some officials, it will be the first time for them to meet in a long time. Purisima has yet to speak to either Roxas or Espina, two top officials kept out of the loop in the operation.

The accounts of Lalan from the 55th company and Police Superintendent Raymond Train of the 84th company are sure to help build a clearer picture of what happened. 

Here’s what we know so far: By early morning of January 25, SAF troopers had already engaged in firefight with MILF and BIFF fighters.

One of Espina’s first real contributions to the operation was when he called up his Philippine Military Academy classmate, Westmincom chief Lt General Rustico Guerrero, to ask for help.

Minutes after, Army Brigadier General Carlito Galvez, head of the government side of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) was told about the trouble in Mamasapano.

Government forces scrambled to send reinforcements or at least broker a ceasefire right away. But without prior coordination, the military said this was difficult to do.

A relative mourns next to the flag-draped coffin of one of the slain SAF member during the arrival honors at the Villamor Airbase on January 29, 2015. Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP

The tragedy in Mamasapano has exposed not only cracks within the PNP but long-brewing tensions between the military and police, and the peculiarities of areas like Mamasapano. (READ: Crisis before Mamasapano: A tale of 2 PNP chiefs)

On February 4, the PNP and the AFP figured in a “word war” over the Mamasapano incident.

An incensed Napeñas broke his silence in a hastily-organized press conference to belie the claims of the military that the SAF were unable to give their exact location during the fight.

Napeñas was reacting to statements that AFP chief of staff General Gregorio Catapang Jr made during a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

The sacked SAF chief’s press conference was followed by another called by Espina, who stepped in to temper the word war.

Some SAF officials insisted that more men could have been saved had military forces entered the area. One police general questioned why none of the AFP’s officials had been administratively relieved over the incident.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gregorio Pio Catapang tells media the role of the AFP in the Mamasapano, Maguindanao operation.

It’s just as sticky a topic in the military as it is inside police circles.

Police in Maguindanao have long had frustrations over what they thought was “inaction” on the part of the military, particularly when it came to operations against Marwan.

Napeñas later explained one of the reasons why they kept the military out of the loop was because of worries that the operation would be compromised.

The sacked police general also insisted they tried to coordinate with the military, but it was they who eventually stopped committing to the operation by April 2014.

Why didn’t the SAF coordinate with local military forces? Were Napeñas’ reasons justified?

WERE THEY PREPARED? 

The SAF troopers succeeded in their target, which was to neutralize the elusive Marwan

It was after Marwan’s kill that things went awry for the men in the SAF’s 55th and 84th companies. All but one of the 36 commandos from the 55th company of the 5th Special Action Battalion, the assigned blocking force of the operation, died in a hours-long encounter with members of the MILF and BIFF

Nine men from the 84th battalion were also among the slain, now collectively known as the SAF 44. Various sources estimate at least 68 died during the Mamasapano operation, including MILF fighters and civilians. 

Why were the men of the 55th SAF company in such a vulnerable position for enemy combatants?

The SAF troopers sent to Mamasapano were veterans of the 2013 Zamboanga seige and experienced operators in other conflict-torn areas of Muslim Mindanao, but they were not familiar with Mamasapano. 

Members of elite Police Special Action Force carry the remains of 42 of their 44 comrades from three C-130 military planes. Photo by Dennis Sabangan/EPA

By daybreak, the 55th company’s radio man, Senior Inspector Ryan Pabalinas radioed for help. It was the last time his commanders would hear from him. 

SAF troopers have the best and newest equipment – night vision goggles, Ultimax assault weapons – all of which are in rebel hands. Without a doubt, they had the right training and tools to take down the two hits. The elite cops are also the recipients of the best training – both from the Philippines and abroad.

It goes back to the question of reinforcements and coordination.

Why didn’t the SAF tap the resources of the military, the MILF, or even local police for the operation? Why were they left in such a vulnerable position in Mamasapano? 

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEACE TALKS NOW?

Government and MILF are firm in their stance: the botched Mamasapano operation will not and should not endanger a long-awaited peace deal that promises to bring lasting peace in Muslim Mindanao. 

Both sides have called on the public to be circumspect and cautious in their language. 

At least two senators have since withdrawn their support for the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law following the clash. Senate Local Goverment Committee head Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended hearings on the proposed law, and afterwards set his “conditions” for them to resume.

Catholics ang muslims join the protest rally in Mendiola demanding truth and accountability for the Mamasapano clash between PNP SAF troopers and rebels.

 

The Mamasapano probe is expected to attract attention from more senators.

Sa tingin ko mas marami. Sila mismo ay may mga katanungan rin. At lahat naman tayo apektado dito. Maraming buhay ang nabuwis dito at maraming nakasalalay sa pagdinig nito. Hindi lamang kapayapaan sa Mindanao kundi lahat tayo sa buong bansa,” said Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chair Senator Grace Poe in a February 7 interview. 

(I think more senators will attend the hearing. They too have questions. And all of us are affected by this. A lot of lives were lost and a lot is at stake in this hearing. It’s not just about peace in Mindanao but peace in the country.) 

The government and the MILF, meanwhile, are in backchannel talks for the return of the SAF troopers’ arms and belongings. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Avatar photo

author

Bea Cupin

Bea is a senior multimedia reporter who covers national politics. She's been a journalist since 2011 and has written about Congress, the national police, and the Liberal Party for Rappler.