Families of fallen SAF commandos want Aquino’s apology

In a surprise visit to Camp Crame last night, President Benigno S. Aquino III and members of his Cabinet met with the families of the 44 PNP Special Action Force troopers. The President talked with each family, spending several hours at Crame. — February 18, 2015. (Photo: Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA — Families of the Cordillera warriors who were killed during the Mamasapano, Maguidanao want to hear apology from President Aquino and have him take responsibility for the incident.

“An apology is all we ask. We want President Aquino to accept responsibility for [Mamasapano], apologize publicly and sincerely and then investigate the one who gave those orders that led to the deaths of our family members,” Celestino Bilog, a kin of one of the police officer said in an interview for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“This issue would not have gone unanswered this long had the President simply stepped up and apologized,” he added.

He added that act would have enraged the public and force Aquino to fasten up punishment for the people who made the mistakes in the execution of the operation.

“He may have been given bad information. He may have been told that everything was going right so he was confident about the mission succeeding. But he could have stopped all [the tension],” he said.

Bilog also defended Director Getulio Napeñas Jr. and expressed disappointment on the way he was being treated.

“He was following someone else’s orders so he should not shoulder all the blame,” he said.

“Our grieving has not ended. We have not been able to join the assemblies organized by the government outside Baguio City because we cannot leave this city until we have completed our burial rituals for [Bilog],” he added.