LEYTE Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Tuesday urged President Benigno Aquino III to apologize to the Filipino people and admit responsibility for the encounter that led to the death of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25.
Romualdez, the head of the independent bloc in the House, said Aquino’s trust and approval ratings will go on a “death spiral” if he will continue to lie and wash his hands of the issue.
Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (center), Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza
and Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz discuss with journalists ways
in ending the controversies hounding the country. VER NOVENO
“The growing restiveness not only of the families and kin of the SAF 44 but those of the majority of the people will further heighten tension and spread divisiveness until the whole truth comes out on the extent of the President’s participation in the Mamasapano operation,” Romualdez said.
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. said the President committed a “lapse in judgment” when he ordered then suspended National Police Chief Alan Purisima to carry out the Mamasapano operation to arrest the terrorist Zulkifli Abdhi alias Marwan.
But Belmonte said any impeachment case against Aquino will not prosper in the House.
“His fault is that he talked with Alan Purisima who is a suspended official,” Belmonte said.
“But legally speaking, Purisima should not have had no role at all [in the operation].”
Romualdez agreed any impeachment case against Aquino will not prosper because he controls the House.
“Let us not pursue that. Let us not waste our time,” he said.
But Senator Francis Escudero said Aquino’s ratings will go down further until the truth comes out about the 44 police commandos.
He said Aquino and his administration will be affected by the “massacre” of the 44 by the MILF and BIFF fighters.
The Kilusang Mayo Uno or May First Movement said the Mamasapano incident marked the beginning of Aquino’s downfall.
“Because Aquino continues to lie and point fingers over the death of many Filipinos in Mamasapano, his trust and approval ratings are bound to nosedive further,” group chairman Elmer Labog said.
Romualdez said his group was appealing to the President to once and for all put an end to the controversies surrounding the Mamasapano incident by answering all the lingering questions on his actions and seeming inaction before, during and after the carnage.
Romualdez’s statement came as the latest Pulse Asia survey showed that Aquino’s trust and approval ratings dropped from 59 percent last November to 38 percent this March after the botched Mamasapano operation. The survey was conducted on 1,200 respondents from March 1 to 17.
Romualdez said it was never too late for the President to admit accountability over the Mamasapano mess.
Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, a member of Romualdez’s bloc, said “a good leader knows how to backtrack, knows how to say sorry.” Not even sorry but admitting your fault.”
Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz said Aquino’s continuing effort to evade critical questions on the Mamasapano incident “has caused public outrage and now very evident as President Aquino got the lowest trust and approval rating since he was elected in 2010.”
Reps. Silvestre Bello III of 1-BAP party-list, Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, Terry Ridon of Kabataan party-list, members of the House Minority Bloc, and Gary Alejano of Magdalo party-list, an administration ally, said the President’s significant drop in ratings was proof of his poor handling of the Mamasapano case.
“He deserves it. The people wanted the truth but he subverted it. Now the people have rendered their verdict: he Lied,” Bello said.
Zarate and Ridon, both members of the Makabayan Bloc, said the President’s legacy was losing over his continuing “lies” behind the Mamasapano debacle.
“The writing is already on the wall. His legacy is lost,” Ridon said.
Said Zarate: “The signs are already clearly written on the wall: President Benigno Simeon Aquino has already squandered whatever political capital that he has.
Alejano, a former mutineer, said the Pulse Asia survey results showed the sentiment of the Filipino people on how Pnoy handled the Mamasapano incident, his statements and actions.
“This is a signal for PNoy to be more sensitive to the sentiments of the people, take a second look at the peace agreement with the MILF and take a stronger stand against the perpetrators in the Mamasapano incident,” Alejano said.
But Reps. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, Bolet Banal of Quezon City, Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar and Jerry Trenas of Iloilo said the President’s drop in trust and approval ratings was expected. With Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vito Barcelo