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After Duterte attack, Aquino to speak out on Mamasapano

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Jorge Carino, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/01/25/aquino-duterte-012517.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA - Former President Benigno &quot;Noynoy&quot; Aquino III will speak on Thursday to answer questions directed against him by President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the Mamasapano clash where 44 elite cops died two years ago. Aquino said he will respond to Duterte after checking the “facts.”&quot;There were a lot of points &#x27;no, raised in yesterday&#x27;s speech [of Duterte]. So we just wanted to make sure of our reply. We&#x27;ve double-checked all of the facts. So I&#x27;ve been spending this morning, checking on those facts,” Aquino said.“I&#x27;m meeting with my legal counsels this afternoon and we&#x27;re crafting a statement for release tomorrow.&quot;Aquino was interviewed Wednesday morning after hearing a Mass celebrated for the 84th birthday of his mother, the late Corazon Aquino. Vice President Leni Robredo joined the family in celebrating the birthday of the former president. Relatives and the Aquino family’s close friends were also in attendance.In a speech in Malacañang on Tuesday during his meeting with relatives of the cops slain in Mamasapano, Duterte raised what he called unanswered questions that will satisfy the quest for justice of the victims’ kin.<ul class="op-related-articles" title="Read">	<li>READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/24/17/duterte-recalls-day-with-aquino-during-mamasapano-incident">Duterte recalls day with Aquino during Mamasapano incident</a></li></ul>Duterte shared what took place during a meeting in Zamboanga City with the then-President Aquino on the day of the Mamasapano encounter on January 25, 2015 in Maguindanao. Duterte told widows and relatives of the 44 slain elite policemen that Aquino was going &quot;back and forth&quot; with &quot;unexplainable&quot; facial expressions. Then a mayor of Davao City, Duterte was invited by Aquino to a meeting at the Edwin Andrews Air Base, as he was incidentally in the city. “Wala nang pakornihan, I was there to campaign. But you knew my presence, you requested [DILG Secretary Mar] Roxas to call the police to contact me to go to [Edwin] Andrews Air Base. Then you requested me to be brought to the command conference,” Duterte said, addressing Aquino.Duterte said, as the command conference was ongoing, it appeared that it became clear to Aquino and then Interior Secretary Manuel &quot;Mar&quot; Roxas what happened in Mamasapano.He said the two went out of the room at least four times to discuss what he presumed was a sensitive matter.“By the way, nung nandoon tayo sa command conference, you went back and forth sa kwarto na maliit,” he said. “Hindi naman tayo bata eh. Hindi rin ako mag-ano, you know I’ve been trained to watch the demeanor of persons.”“Every time they went out I could see in your faces the – I cannot describe - ayaw kong insultuhin kayo but I could sense that something really, really bad happened.”<div>DUTERTE ‘PISSED OFF’</div>Duterte said, he was particularly pissed by one of the reactions of Aquino in the command conference with regard to the Mamasapano carnage.“Umupo ka tapos sinabi mo sa general, ‘Kung ikaw ang nandoon, ano ba ang dapat gawin?’ You know Mr. President, I will not characterize your behavior, but you have noticed that I just stood and I said, ‘Mr. President, medyo hilong-hilo pa ako sa byahe, can I beg the indulgence to leave?’” Duterte said.“Bakit? Patay na tapos may tanungin ka na isang general na anong dapat mong gawin kung nandoon ka? I’m really sorry to say, I’d be honest and you can criticize me for this -- this is a democracy and you can also -- I was really pissed off. Sinenyasan ko si Bong [Go] sabi ko umalis tayo dito.”Aquino was in Zamboanga City the day Special Action Force (SAF) troopers engaged with Moro rebels and other private armed groups in their bid to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan. Aquino was in the Mindanao city supposedly to be briefed about a car bomb explosion that killed two people.Aquino’s visit, however was kept under wraps, fueling speculations that the Mamasapano clash was also part of his agenda for the visit.<div>STAND DOWN ORDER?</div>Duterte also pointed to reports that the government, through the advice of then-peace adviser Teresita Deles, decided not to send military reinforcement for the SAF troopers in Mamasapano to preserve a ceasefire with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. “Why did you enter into an operation which was really placing in jeopardy the lives (of the troops) because at the end of the day, you would have decided not to send any?” Duterte said.“Kayo nagputukan, pinigilan niyo because alam niyo and alam ni Deles you would have violated (the ceasefire).”Deles denied Duterte&#x27;s allegations and instructed the president to read congressional reports instead of dealing with &quot;alternative facts.&quot;The Mamasapano encounter dealt a serious blow to the credibility and popularity of Aquino, as the operation which led to the deaths of 44 elite policemen was carried out allegedly under the orders of then-suspended police chief Alan Purisima, who was known for being loyal and close to Aquino.

MANILA - Former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III will speak on Thursday to answer questions directed against him by President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the Mamasapano clash where 44 elite cops died two years ago.

MANILA - Former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III will speak on Thursday to answer questions directed against him by President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the Mamasapano clash where 44 elite cops died two years ago.

After Duterte attack, Aquino to speak out on Mamasapano

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After Duterte attack, Aquino to speak out on Mamasapano

Jorge Carino,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 25, 2017 02:34 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

Benigno Aquino III

Mamasapano massacre

SAF 44

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