Mamasapano senate hearing, BOI probers, Taylor Swift | The wRap

Today on Rappler.

• An army general turns emotional over the blame game… in the aftermath of the fallen 44. 
• The Philippine police’s Board of Inquiry goes to Mamasapano. 
• Taylor Swift is the world’s top-selling artist for 2014.

EMOTIONAL GENERAL, FEISTY CAYETANO IN MAMASAPANO SENATE HEARING
Another general becomes emotional in a hearing on the Mamasapano clash Tuesday.
Army general Edmundo Pangilinan became teary-eyed and raised his voice.
He was reacting to SAF commander Getulio Napeñas who started out thanking the military, but ended up blaming the soldiers for failing to provide artillery support to SAF commandos under fire in the Mamasapano.

GETULIO NAPENAS, RELIEVED SAF CHIEF: Honestly, Your Honor, we could have done better as we have done in the past or the year 2012 and 2013 when we were doing these operations against Abdul Basit Usman. In our efforts to coordinate with the Armed Forces of the Philippines they will be joining us in operations… we were not then successful.

EDMUNDO PANGILINAN, ARMY GENERAL: Nagpapasalamat po ako at least narecognize nila kahit napakaliit at nabawasan ang sakit na naramdaman ko sa ngayon. Ang ‘di ko matanggap: nagpasalamat but just the same we are still blamed for the death [of the SAF commandos] at ‘yun po ang masakit sa akin.

(I thank you for at least somehow recognizing in a small degree our contributions, and the pain I feel now was alleviated. What I cannot accept is that you thanked us but just the same, we are still being blamed for the death of the SAF commandos.)

In the same hearing… Senator Nancy Binay hits Interior Secretary Mar Roxas over his confusing statements on when he alerted  President Benigno Aquino.

NANCY BINAY, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: A gentle reminder, I asked you in the last hearing if you informed the President. Hindi kayo nakasagot. Yesterday, nabanggit niyo na-text niyo pala ang President ng 8 am. You are under oath so please kindly tell the truth. Di ba nagtext ho kayo ng 8, did he text back?

(You failed to answer my question in last week’s hearing. But yesterday you said you were in touch with the President that day. You are under oath so please kindly tell the truth. Did he text back when you texted him?)

Visibly offended, Roxas hits Binay back.

MAR ROXAS, INTERIOR SECRETARY: I have been and will always tell the truth. I did not, at any time commit what you are implying in your statement, Madam Senator. Number two, at that last hearing, I said I do not recall let me reconstruct my text messages which I then reported to the Senate floor exactly as it was in the last hearing, yesterday. And then in answer to your question, yes the president texted back.
NANCY BINAY, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: And what was his text?
MAR ROXAS, INTERIOR SECRETARY: “Thank you.”
NANCY BINAY, PHILIPPINE SENATOR:  “Thanks” lang?
MAR ROXAS, INTERIOR SECRETARY: “Thank you.”

(I have been and will always tell the truth. I did not, at any time commit what you are implying in your statement, Madam Senator. Number two, at that last hearing, I said I do not recall let me reconstruct my text messages which I then reported to the Senate floor exactly as it was in the last hearing, yesterday. And then in answer to your question, yes the president texted back.
NANCY BINAY, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: And what was his text?
MAR ROXAS, INTERIOR SECRETARY: “Thank you.”
NANCY BINAY, PHILIPPINE SENATOR:  Just thanks?
MAR ROXAS, INTERIOR SECRETARY: “Thank you.”)

Tension in the Senate rises as Senator Alan Cayetano faces off with Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal.
Cayetano says there is nothing wrong with exposing the gruesome video of a SAF official shot to death…
while Iqbal says it is a crime to “spread darkness.”

ALAN CAYETANO, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: So are you ready for democracy? With democracy you must be ready to deal with things like this.

MOHAGHER IQBAL, MILF NEGOTIATOR: Yes but in democracy there is no absolute freedom, there are limitations.

ALAN CAYETANO, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: But in the Philippine Constitution, which you swear allegiance to, once na pumasa ang BBL, there is freedom of speech.

ALAN CAYETANO, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: Bakit sa inyo, kahit anong gawin ng mga tao nyo OK lang?

(Why is it that when your people do this, it’s OK?)

MOHAGHER IQBAL, MILF NEGOTIATOR: Pwede bang hindi machine gun ang question kasi napakahirap sundin ang tanong na sunud-sunod.

(Can you stop rattling off questions like a machine gun because it’s hard to follow your line of questioning?)

ALAN CAYETANO, PHILIPPINE SENATOR: Ang BIFF sa akin, BFF ng MILF. Best friends forever.

(The BIFF for me is the BFF of the MILF.)

PROBERS VISIT MAMASAPANO ENCOUNTER SITE
The group formed to probe the Mamasapano operation visits the site of the deadly clash Tuesday.
The Philippine National Police’s Board of Inquiry or BOI visits Barangay Tukanalipao, where the police Special Action Force lost 44 of its commandos in a gunfight with two Muslim rebel groups on January 25.
BOI head Police Director Benjamin Magalong earlier said the BOI is about 70% finished with the investigation.
The board has already received the testimonies of resigned police chief Alan Purisima, acting police chief Leonardo Espina, and military chief Gen Gregorio Catapang.
The board wants to submit its report by end of the month. 


SC UPHOLDS PMA VERDICT DISMISSING CADET FOR LYING
The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirms the dismissal of Cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia from the Philippine Military Academy or PMA in 2014 for violating the school’s honor code.
The court says the academic institution’s code has to be respected.
The PMA’s Honor Code binds the cadets to not ” lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate among us those who do so.”
The honor system is managed by the cadets.
In 2014, the PMA Honor Committee dismissed Cudia for lying about why he was late to class…which the committee said violated the Honor Code.
Cudia protested the decision, saying it was unfair to be punished for being 2 minutes late to one class.
His family used social media to explain his side, with other PMA alumni weighing in.

FRANCE SEIZES PASSPORTS OF WOULD-BE JIHADISTS
French authorities confiscate passports of French nationals believed bound for Syria to join jihadists.
This is part of new counter-terrorism measures adopted by France in November 2014.
It also comes after 3 British schoolgirls left London to travel to Syria via Turkey.
In a related development…
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS kidnap at least 90 Assyrian Christians Tuesday.
The human rights group says the abductions took place after ISIS seized two villages in the province of Hassakeh in Syria.

TAYLOR SWIFT OFFICIALLY WORLD’S TOP SELLER IN 2014
Singer Taylor Swift is the world’s top-selling artist in 2014.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI, says her music’s physical sales, downloads and streaming all account for total revenue.
Swift’s album 1989 last year sold 1.2 million copies in its first week in the United States…
the top haul since Eminem’s The Eminem Show in 2002…
when overall music sales were higher.

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