(Updated) A PANEL of the Commission on Appointments (CA) deferred Wednesday the confirmation of Major General Edmundo Pangilinan, the Army's 6th Infantry Division commander, as two of its members want the military official to explain his participation on the bloody Mamasapano incident.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Representative Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro, 2nd district), both members of the CA committee on national defense, grilled Pangilinan on his alleged failure to give the necessary help to the beleaguered Special Action Force (SAF) elite commandos during their law enforcement operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
During the hearing, Pangilinan requested for an executive session, saying he cannot divulge important matters for national security reasons.
According to reports, Pangilinan was asked by an American soldier if he can already fire the artillery during the execution of Oplan Exodus last January 25, which Pangilinan refused.
Cayetano asked Pangilinan if he was affected by the death of the 44 SAF members insisting that there must be someone who should be held answerable.
Pangilinan admitted he was affected but maintained that he will honor and submit himself to the pleasure of CA panel with regard to his confirmation.
Cayetano said the participation of Pangilinan should be cleared first as he sees no reason why it cannot be deferred until May of this year.
"If we will confirm him today in the plenary and will not be deferred, we almost say that the case is solved and we are already saying that we already know the truth," said Cayetano.
"I hope you understand but we do not want to make a mistake," he added.
Senator Gregorio Honasan II, however, opposed Cayetano's motion, saying the deferment may affect the morale of Pangilinan and his troops.
Pangilinan agreed with Honasan, a former soldier, but said that he respected the decision of the commission.
According to a Senate report on Mamasapano released Tuesday, three unnamed Americans were brought into the local army brigade headquarters during the operation, creating tensions at a crucial time with the Filipino military commander, according to the Senate report.
"One of the Americans ordered Major General Edmundo Pangilinan to fire the artillery," the report stated.
"However Pangilinan refused and told him, 'Do not dictate to me what to do. I am the commander here'," the report added.
A United States embassy spokesperson in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Senate report.
The US provides military training and intelligence to the Philippines in its counter-terrorism efforts.
Under the terms of an alliance between the two allied nations, US forces are not allowed to engage in combat.
It was also stated in the Senate report that there was no evidence to show the US was involved in combat, but said there were concerns that Washington's influence on the Philippine National Police (PNP) was too strong.
"The Mamasapano incident raises serious questions about whether the President, as well as some other high-ranking officials of the government, could have done more to minimize the deaths, which resulted from the incident," the report said.
The Senate report also indicated that the planning and execution of Oplan Exodus were not 100 percent Filipino-planned and implemented.
This particular information on Pangilinan bolstered talks on what actually transpired immediately after as the said exchanges was supposedly followed by a statement from the side of the American personnel urging relieved SAF chief Getulio Napeñas to "call your boss", supposedly in reference to resigned PNP chief Alan Purisima to relay what was happening and the purported refusal of Pangilinan to provide artillery support.
The said incidents were supposed to have taken place between 7:30 a.m. to the time when international terrorists Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan, was being "extracted" from the scene by the SAF, the time when heavy firefight was taking place and killing one by one the members of the elite police commandos.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, also former soldier, came in defense of Pangilinan but Cayetano and Rodriguez insisted that the deferment would not affect Pangilinan who will be retiring within the year.
Except for Pangilinan, 37 military officers was able to get the nod of the CA smoothly as the committee recommended for plenary actions their appointment. (Sunnex)