Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News

MANILA – Senatorial aspirant and former Special Action Force (SAF) chief Getulio Napeñas on Thursday debunked the Armed Forces of the Philippines&#x27; (AFP) defense on why the military was not able to send help to the beleaguered police commandos during the Mamasapano clash last year.Speaking to dzMM, Napeñas hit the AFP for claiming that the SAF deliberately withheld information from the military about the high-profile operation to neutralize Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan.He said the allegation that the SAF sent a certain Senior Supt. Manolo Ozaeta to host a dinner for 601st Brigade commander Col. Melquiades Feliciano and 45th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Romeo Bautista on the eve of the Mamasapano mission, to prevent the military from joining the raid, has no basis.READ: &#x27;<a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/03/26/15/wine-and-dine-plan-backfired-military-official">Wine and dine&#x27; plan backfired - military official</a>&#x27;&#x27;Si Sr. Supt. Ozaeta is not in any way connected with SAF. Hindi namin kasama iyan. Pumunta later sa amin, nagpapakilala sa akin, pero kung makita ko ngayon di ko nga makilala ulit,&#x27;&#x27; Napenas said.&#x27;&#x27;Iyung sinasabi nila na SAF daw ang naglasing sa mga military kaya &#x27;di nakagalaw at nandoon si Ozaeta, di naming kilala &#x27;yan.&quot;Napeñas has been blaming the military for failing to send reinforcements to the beleaguered SAF troopers, even as he defends the so-called &#x27;&#x27;time on target&#x27;&#x27; plan where the military was only informed of the operation to neutralize Marwan right before the actual operation on January 25, 2015.Napeñas said he no longer wanted to coordinate with the military because previous military-coordinated attempts to get Marwan failed due to leaked information.The AFP, for its part, said the SAF&#x27;s failure to coordinate with them caused the bloodbath, where the police commandos were outnumbered by Moro rebels and other lawless elements in the corn field of Mamasapano.<div>&#x27;WHY TRUST SAF IF I&#x27;M INCOMPETENT?&#x27;</div>During the reopening of the Senate&#x27;s investigation on the Mamasapano clash, high-ranking officials from the AFP pinned all the blame on Napeñas, whose &#x27;&#x27;attitude and mindset&#x27;&#x27; they said caused the debacle.&quot;Indeed, there was no sense of urgency on his part that impinged adversely on his capability to provide command and control. In the process, he failed to provide or exercise combat leadership and commandership to his troops,&#x27;&#x27; said Maj. Gen. Angelito de Leon, AFP deputy chief of staff for operations.&#x27;&#x27;When everything was said and done, he blamed everyone, the Armed Forces, including the President, for his failures. This kind of attitude and mindset, in the AFP&#x27;s view, was the root of the problem that led to the debacle.&quot;Showing a photo of Napeñas with his then deputy Noli Taliño, the AFP scored the ex-SAF chief for supposedly smiling as his men were on the field. The AFP said this showed that even Napeñas himself was not aware of the situation on the ground.&#x27;&#x27;Napeñas and party were still in civilian attire and can even afford to smile in spite of the dire situation faced by his troops at the encounter site,&#x27;&#x27; de Leon said.&#x27;&#x27;It shows he was detached from reality of SAF operation. Napeñas was not completely aware of what was happening on the ground and the magnitude of the SAF casualties.&quot;In his defense, Napeñas said the photo showed by the AFP did not show the real situation.&#x27;&#x27;Naka-T shirt kami, nakangiti pa raw ako. Pero pansinin niyo ang hitsura ni Gen. Taliño, malungkot na malungkot. Ako ay nagsasalita at nakaturo ang kamay ko kasi nagsasalita ako kaya nakabuka ang aking bunganga,&#x27;&#x27; he said.READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/01/27/16/afp-why-was-napenas-smiling-during-mamasapano-carnage">AFP: Why was Napeñas smiling during Mamasapano carnage?</a>Napeñas said he and Taliño wore civilian clothes because it was part of the so-called &#x27;&#x27;operational security.&quot;&#x27;&#x27;Mukha ko pa lang, nakita nila ako sa GenSan, kasama ang deputy, ipapasa na nila ang impormasyon sa Maguindanao,&#x27;&#x27; he said.&#x27;&#x27;Kaya sina Marwan, gaano na katagal sa Mindanao, buhay, dahil laging nakakatakbo kung may operation.&quot;He also dismissed the AFP&#x27;s allegation that the SAF also lacked communication equipment, saying the SAF actually bought special communications equipment for that operation.He added that if he is indeed incompetent as the AFP said, then the numerous operations to neutralize Marwan should not have been entrusted to SAF.&#x27;&#x27;Kung incompetent ako, bakit sa amin pa rin ibinigay? Ang tanungin natin bakit hindi ibinigay ng Pangulo sa military ang trabahong yan?&quot; he said.<div>NO HELP FROM COMRADES?</div>Napeñas said Staff Sergeant Whilmer Jaranilla, team leader of the 61st Division Reconnaissance Company, lied during the Senate hearing when he said the rest of the SAF troopers did nothing to help their beleaguered comrades from the 55th and 84th Special Action Companies.&quot;Nung pagsabi ko [na tulungan yung 55th SAC], wala namang reaction, Sir,&quot; Jaranilla said in response to a question by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.&quot;Andun lang sila sa may saging, nakasandal. Nakadapa yung iba,&quot; he added.Napeñas belied this, citing an affidavit of Jaramilla which quoted the latter as saying that it would be dangerous to go to the clash site without artillery support from the military.<div>WHY WERE MAR, GAZMIN, ESPINA KEPT IN THE DARK?</div>Napeñas said ultimately, President Aquino and his trusted friend, former police chief Alan Purisima, should explain why key officials were left in the dark about the January 25 mission, called &#x27;&#x27;Oplan Exodus.&quot;He said while he insisted to President Aquino that the time on target plan be pursued, it was not for him to decide whether to leave then Interior secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and then PNP OIC Leonardo Espina in the dark.&#x27;&#x27;Presidente dapat ang nagko-call,&#x27;&#x27; he said.&quot;Ako ba na director ng SAF ang magsasabi kung sino ang nandito mula sa Cabinet? Sino dapat, ako ba o yung mas nakakataas pa sa akin?&quot;In contrast with the President&#x27;s claim that he was fooled when Napeñas did not coordinate with the military, Napeñas said the President did not object when he told him that it would be better to leave the military out of the plan.READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/03/09/15/pnoy-condemns-napenas-binola-niya-ako">PNoy condemns Napeñas: Binola niya ako</a>

MANILA – Senatorial aspirant and former Special Action Force (SAF) chief Getulio Napenas on Thursday debunked the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) defense on why the military was not able to send help to the beleaguered police commandos during the Mamasapano clash last year.

Napenas: I'm not incompetent

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Napenas: I'm not incompetent

Dharel Placido,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 28, 2016 02:51 PM PHT

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Getulio Napenas

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