Operation resulted in massacre of 44 commandos by Muslim rebels

  MANILA – Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales upheld on Thursday her order issued in June to indict former President Benigno Aquino III for allowing suspended national police chief Alan Purisima to take charge of an operation against Muslim rebels in 2015 that led to the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members. This after Morales rejected an appeal by Aquino filed last September 5 to her order to charge him before the Sandiganbayan criminal court for usurpation of authority and violation of a section of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act that penalizes government officials who encourage public officers to disobey rules. Morales said there was probable cause to hold Aquino criminally liable for "giving Purisima an active role in (the operation called) Oplan Exodus as he was exercising a degree of authority and discretion over dismissed SAF commander Getulio Napeñas." Purisima and Napeñas are facing similar cases in the anti-graft court since January in relation to the botched military operation. Abigail Valte, spokeswoman for Aquino, said the former President will meet with his lawyers to discuss their next course of action. The SAF commandos were tapped in Oplan Exodus to go after members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (BIFF) who were in Mamasapano and to capture or kill wanted Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker Zulkifli Abdhir, other Malaysian terrorists, and leaders of the BIFF. Mamasapano is a town in the central Mindanao province of Maguindanao. However, the SAF members ended up getting ambushed by the Muslim rebels. Morales earlier ordered Aquino's indictment when he "assented to or at the very least failed to prevent Purisima" – who was serving suspension – from getting involved in the operation. Prior the Mamasapano clash, Purisima was under suspension over an alleged irregular gun license delivery deal. According to Morales, Purisima usurped authority by playing a role in Oplan Exodus "to the point that he was exercising a degree of authority and discretion over Napeñas and consequently, over the operation" in Mamasapano. She pointed out that the law bars a suspended official "from performing any public functions and from meddling into the affairs of the government." Morales said usurpation of authority is "committed by any person who shall knowingly and falsely represent himself to be an officer, agent or representative of any department or agency of the Philippine government." She further said that Aquino violated a provision in the antigraft law which prohibits a public officer "from inducing or influencing another to perform an act that violates duly-promulgated regulations." Meanwhile, Morales said that while Aquino invoked his presidential powers in his appeal, she said it was unlawful to allow Purisima to perform the functions of the PNP chief when he was still under suspension pending an inquiry into an irregular firearms license delivery deal. She said also that Aquino's claim that Purisima was merely a "resource person" in the military operation does not jibe with evidence, which are text messages showing how Purisima coordinated Oplan Exodus and reported developments to Aquino, the Ombudsman said. 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