By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has accepted the resignation of the country's chief of police following a bloody raid that left 44 police commandos dead last month.
In a televised national address Friday night, Aquino confirmed his acceptance of Alan Purisima’s resignation, saying the police chief could have considered the options available and aborted the Jan. 25 operation in southern Maguindanao province.
“I am accepting effective immediately the resignation of General Purisima,” Aquino said. "It was difficult to let go of Purisima because of our friendship."
Purisima had been suspended from his post since December due to a pending graft case over the alleged misuse of gun owners' courier fees.
Despite the suspension, he reportedly headed Oplan Wolverine, an operation that saw around 400 police commandos descend on Mamasapano township to target Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorist -- only to run into opposition from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters rebel groups.
President Aquino said Friday that the slain commandos were his responsibility and he would carry this "tragedy" for the rest of his life.
“I am the father of the country, and 44 of my children were killed. They were irrecoverable, the tragedy happened under my tenure,” he said.
“Once again, to the families of those SAF [Special Action Force] members. There are no words to diminish the pain of bereaved,” he added, telling them they “are not alone.”
In his resignation letter, Purisima said, "The past few days have been very difficult for me, my family and friends. I can only surmise that things may have been even more difficult for you, Mr. President.”
He added, “While we had a successful mission against terrorism in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, this came at a very high cost. Allow me to express my sympathies to the families of my fellow SAF policemen.”
Explaining that he had once served on the SAF and knew the sacrifices made by each member, Purisima said, “To this, my salute to the brave and gallant 44 SAF personnel.”
The raid reportedly led to the death of Malaysian bomb-maker Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, a leading figure in Jemaah Islamiyah -- the al-Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian group behind the 2002 Bali bombings -- who had a $5 million FBI bounty on his head.
During his televised speech, Aquino said the government was still on the hunt for Basit Usman, a Filipino bomb-maker linked to Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf, who is reported to have escaped during the Mamasapano operation.
He expressed expectations that the Front, which signed a March 2014 peace deal with the government to resolve a decades-long conflict that has seen more than 120,000 people killed, would cooperate in efforts to capture Usman.
