(Eagle News)– During the continuation of the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano probe, Armed Forces of the Philippines 6th Infantry Division Commander Major General Edmundo Pangilinan admitted he had two air assets, specifically army helicopters, at his disposal on January 25, 2015, but decided not to use these to help beleaguered Special Action Force troopers in Mamasapano.
In response to the questioning of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Pangilinan said that the Huey helicopters on the field were “designed for troop insertion and evacuation.” He said the chopper “could be subjected to enemy fire.”
Enrile was questioning why there was no aerial reconnaisance in the area that could have helped the SAF troopers.
He asked about the artillery of the rebels fighting the SAF troops, and if these could even reach helicopters if they had gone to the area.
He said that the helicopter could have been used to see the terrain and make an assessment of what was happening.
“Ang hirap dito, nagtuturuan kayo, kasi may nangyari,” Enrile said when Pangilinan answered as to why he did not deploy the Huey helicopters.
The AFP said it had sent air assets to the area for the discretion of the ground commander — who at that time was Pangilinan — to use as support for the Mamasapano operations.
The choppers arrived at the nearest airport at 10:52 in the morning of January 25, according to Enrile, but these were not sent by Pangilinan to the Mamasapano area.
“You did not use your available assets. Two aircrafts were available at your dispatch. Hindi ninyo pinalipad,” Senator JV Ejercito pointed out to Pangilinan.
Prior to this, the PNP SAF’s Gen. Getulio Napenas said he had asked for artillery support from the AFP because the SAF troopers in the field had been trapped, and that elements of the Bangsamoro Freedom Firefighters had joined the firefight.
During the hearing, the AFP had tried to pin the blame for the Mamasapano massacre solely on Napenas, saying that it did not receive enough information about Oplan Exodus, and that Napenas had later on failed to provide them the right coordinates as to the location of the SAF troops.
It also showed a powerpoint presentation during the Senate inquiry on Wednesday where it claimed that Napenas himself did not appear to show any sense of urgency.
The AFP presentation included a photograph of an apparently smiling Napenas wearing civilian clothes taken at 4:14 p.m. at the headquarters of the 1st Mechanized Brigade.
The AFP said pointed out that Napenas still wearing civilian clothes at the time showed that he was not ready to leave for the battlefield.
Its presentation also claimed that Napenas was unaware of the magnitude of SAF casualties at the time, and that he was blaming everyone but himself.
Napenas said this was not true as he had been texting and calling his superiors, including former PNP Director Purisima since morning, informing them of the need for support by the PNP-SAF.
He said Pangilinan failed to act immediately when asked for support, and that it was only when he called up Gen. Catapang after five in the afternoon on January 25 that actual support came.