‘Special ops gone awry’

THE killing of dozens of members of the elite Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Sunday requires a deeper probe to find out who authorized the operation without coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

According to a seasoned intelligence officer who was instrumental in the capture of foreign terrorists in the past, the fact that local military and police commanders were not immediately made aware of the operation meant that the order to proceed was given by “somebody from the national level.”