MANILA — President Benigno Aquino III is not turning his back on his responsibilities just like the issue of the Mamasapano incident.
This was stressed by President Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in a briefing Tuesday.
“Sa lahat naman po ng pagkakataon ay kinikilala ng Pangulo na siya ay Ama ng Bayan, kasama na po diyan ‘yung pagiging Commander-in-Chief, at hindi naman po siya tumatanggi sa kanyang responsibilidad bilang Chief Executive ng ating bansa (The President accepts the fact that he is the head of this nation as well as the Commander-in-Chief and he greatly accepts his responsibilities as the Chief Executive of the country),” he said.
Coloma said the President is not giving his thoughts on the Mamasapano incident anymore because he already made these known when he delivered a televised speech on January 28, 2015.
He said the Chief Executive is also giving the Board of Inquiry, which was formed by the Philippine National Police (PNP), the time to assess what really happened in the operations of the police’s Special Action Force (SAF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25.
“Lahat po ay isinasaalang-alang sa kasalukuyan at mas mainam po siguro na hintayin natin ‘yung pagsasagawa ng kumpletong pagsasalaysay (Everything is being considered now and it is better to wait for the completion of the on-going assessment),” Coloma said.
The Mamasapano operations claimed the lives of 44 SAF members in what the govenrment said is due to a “misencounter” with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The SAF members were on a mission to serve the arrest warrants to two suspected terrorists – Filipino bomb maker Abdulbasit Usman and Malasian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, reportedly a leader of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiya (JI).
The President has received flaks from what happened to the 44 members of the police’s elite group but Coloma assured the public that the President is taking all these criticisms “with equanimity and with objectivity.”
“Sinabi nga niya doon sa kanyang talumpati noong Biyernes, bilang Ama ng Bayan ay hindi dapat pairalin ‘yung galit o ‘yung emosyon dahil kailangang malaman ang buong katotohanan dahil ito ang magiging daan sa paggawad ng katarungan (As what he said in his speech last Friday, it is not good to be gripped by anger or emotion because there is a need to know the truth to get justice),” he said.
Coloma urged all sectors to give the on-going investigation time and only after that will the President give his thoughts.
“Kaya hihintayin muna ‘yung paglalahad ng kumpletong salaysay at sa takdang panahon, as appropriate, he will express his position on these matters (Let’s wait for the complete statements and in due time, as appropriate, he will express his position on these matters),” he said.
Meanwhile, Coloma urged the public to be mindful of the information they get and not to easily believe especially on the alleged destabilization plot against the President.
He said these talks are baseless and are not beneficial to the country.