Aquino gave the go-signal for SAF raid

That was the claim of Police Director Getulio Napeñas, the recently-sacked head of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force, referring to his troops’ ill-fated operation to terminate Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir and his local cohort that led to the massacre of the 44 SAF troopers on January 25.

That was the report yesterday of Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Arlyn de la Cruz, a veteran journalist who has specialized in military and insurgency reportage for two decades. I’m surprised why that account was buried deep inside her report (SAF Chief: My men were still alive at noon but no reinforcements came”) and why the newspapers’ veteran editors didn’t make it their banner story for the day.