PNoy announces Purisima’s resignation in primetime speech

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Finally, a confirmation from a named source — President Noynoy Aquino himself.

At 6:30pm on Fri, Feb 6, President Noynoy Aquino delivered his latest address to the nation. The primary agenda of his speech was to provide clarification on the events related to the Mamasapano, Maguindanao clash.

A much anticipated announcement in Aquino’s speech concerned the resignation of suspended Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima. Aquino confirmed the rumor that circulated yesterday, saying in Filipino, “It pains me that he has to leave the service under these circumstances.”

Purisima, despite his suspension for a graft case, had reportedly been involved in the mission of the PHP-Special Armed Force (SAF) in Mamasapano. Forty-four SAF troopers died in the operation.

This created all sorts of complications about the chain of command, as PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said he was not informed about every detail of the said operation.

Aquino, nevertheless, said that he considered the Mamasapano mission a successful one. However, he lamented that the government paid a very heavy price for it with the lives of the fallen. Addressing the families of the SAF cops who died, he promised to get justice for their loved ones.

Aquino then emphasized that despite what happened in Mamasapano, he still considered the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as his “brothers in the quest for peace.”  

Aquino also declared that the government continues to be committed to the Bangsamoro peace process.
 

The encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan 25 left 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) dead. The PNP-SAF troopers had been out to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” and Filipino bomb maker Abdulbasit Usman. Both men had bounties on their heads placed by the U.S. government: US$5 million for Marwan and US$1 million for Usman.

The operation turned bloody when members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said they had to fight back because the PNP-SAF had breached their territory. They alleged that they had not been informed about the operation to get Marwan and Usman. The hostile encounter lasted 11 hours. The MILF lost 18 of their fighters.

Both the government and the MILF are doing currently probes on the Mamsapano encounter to determined what went wrong, as the incident threatens the Bangsamoro peace deal.\

Photo: Gov.ph
 

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