Duterte: I was with President Aquino during Mamasapano clash
By Liza Jocson, Zamboanga City-based correspondent
Updated 12:26 PM PHT Mon, January 25, 2016
Mayor Duterte (in striped polo shirt) met with the families of SAF44.
Zamboanga City (CNN Philippines) Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday (January 24) that he was with President Benigo Aquino III in Zamboanga City on the same day 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers were killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last year.
Duterte made the revelation to local reporters during an interview in Zamboanga City where he had a dialogue with the families of SAF44.
He said that last January 25 he was invited by then Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to be with Aquino's group at the Edwin Andrews Airbase. The mayor said that he arrived at 5:30 p.m.
Duterte, it will be recalled, had a meeting with supporters in Zamboanga City on that day.
However, he refused to provide details of what happened and what was discussed with Aquino, describing it as an "invitation in confidentiality."
But Duterte said that he might be compelled to talk should he be called to the Senate reinvestigation, although he added that there would be nothing significant for him to reveal.
Related: Kin of fallen SAF commandos commemorate death anniversary
Meanwhile, he said that he had only one question left unanswered regarding the bloody encounter.
He said that he wanted to ask why the SAF troopers a group highly trained in urban terrorism were sent to Mamasapano for the first time where the terrain was totally unfamiliar to them.
"It is still a riddle to me. It was not openly discussed," Duterte said.
He noted that it was important for him to find out the truth about what transpired on that fateful day.
http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2...amasapano.html
By Liza Jocson, Zamboanga City-based correspondent
Updated 12:26 PM PHT Mon, January 25, 2016
Mayor Duterte (in striped polo shirt) met with the families of SAF44.
Zamboanga City (CNN Philippines) Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday (January 24) that he was with President Benigo Aquino III in Zamboanga City on the same day 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers were killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last year.
Duterte made the revelation to local reporters during an interview in Zamboanga City where he had a dialogue with the families of SAF44.
He said that last January 25 he was invited by then Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to be with Aquino's group at the Edwin Andrews Airbase. The mayor said that he arrived at 5:30 p.m.
Duterte, it will be recalled, had a meeting with supporters in Zamboanga City on that day.
However, he refused to provide details of what happened and what was discussed with Aquino, describing it as an "invitation in confidentiality."
But Duterte said that he might be compelled to talk should he be called to the Senate reinvestigation, although he added that there would be nothing significant for him to reveal.
Related: Kin of fallen SAF commandos commemorate death anniversary
Meanwhile, he said that he had only one question left unanswered regarding the bloody encounter.
He said that he wanted to ask why the SAF troopers a group highly trained in urban terrorism were sent to Mamasapano for the first time where the terrain was totally unfamiliar to them.
"It is still a riddle to me. It was not openly discussed," Duterte said.
He noted that it was important for him to find out the truth about what transpired on that fateful day.
http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2...amasapano.html