No rift between AFP, PNP — Catapang

Turn-Over Ceremony of the 16 surrendered SAF firearms on Thursday, February 19 at Camp Aguinaldo. (PNP-PIO)

MANILA — Despite differences in their account of the Mamasapano, Maguindanao incident which claimed the lives of 44 Special Action Forces (SAF) members last Jan. 25, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang on Thursday said there is no rift with their counterparts at the Philippine National Police (PNP).

He made this statement after he and other ranking military officials handed the 16 SAF weapons, turned over by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Wednesday, to a PNP contingent headed by Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina Thursday.

“We just want to reiterate that we are (a) band of brothers, (and) we are just doing our job, and there’s nothing personal about this,” Catapang said in Filipino.

He added that the AFP is doing its best to recover other missing firearms and equipment of the fallen SAF men.

And despite their differences in their account of the Mamasapano incident, the AFP chief hopes that the truth will come out once the Board of Inquiry comes out with its findings.