Duterte claims Deles kept Aquino from ordering military help for SAF 44

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday claimed that then Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita "Ging" Deles stopped then President Benigno Aquino III from ordering the military's air assets to support the beleaguered police commandos in Mamasapano in 2015.

In his speech during his dialogue with the families of the 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) commandos, Duterte also said that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should have been informed of the operation meant to neutralize Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.

“At bakit kayo pumasok? Because under the agreement, if you want to arrest a criminal, not rebellion connected, you have to inform the MILF. Eh kung pumasok kayo doon, it was really a violation. That is why na-stymie kayo,” Duterte said.

“And ma’am, si Deles, I do not want to, you know, belabor. Ikaw ‘yung peace negotiator. And para sa akin, ikaw ‘yung nagpigil kay PNoy na huwag because war will breakout, because then you have violated the agreement that you should not enter MILF territory. Bakit ninyo sabihin kaya kayo pinigilan ninyo ang air assets?” he added.

Duterte said that military support from Davao City was just 40 minutes away from Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

"The fighting started in the wee hours, in the dawn of the day until midnight. Bakit ni isang rocket lang naman wala kayong hinulog? And who said na, ‘Huwag kasi we will break’. So why did you enter into an operation which was really placing in jeopardy the lives, because at the end of the day, you would have decided not to send anymore?" Duterte said.

"Kaya ‘nung nagputukan na, pinigilan ninyo because alam ninyo and alam ni Deles that you have violated and kung ganoon, inisip ninyo hindi ninyo kaya uli, because then war would be declared," he added.

The Aquino administration had denied that Deles stopped the former commander-in-chief from sending reinforcements to the SAF commandos. —NB, GMA News