End of Aquino presidency imminent?

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Written by Nell Alcantara

Local reports in Manila are saying that rallies calling for the resignation of Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino have commenced.

Local reports in Manila are saying that rallies calling for the resignation of Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino have commenced.

This new development comes after the Philippine senate inquiry has put the blame on President Benigno Aquino for breaking the chain of command and allowing a suspended police chief to launch an anti-terror operation in which 44 police officers died.

According to reports, the Philippines president โ€œordered suspended Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima to launch operation Oplan Exodus, a manhunt for wanted Malaysian bombmaker Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan.โ€ A bloodbath encounter on January 25 claimed the lives of five civilians and 18 Filipino-Muslim rebels in the south of the country.

โ€œThe president can only be held responsible through impeachment,โ€ Senator Grace Poe, who released the senate report on Tuesday afternoon, was quoted as saying. โ€œHe is ultimately responsible for the Mamasapano mission. The buck stops with him. If he can own up to it, Iโ€™m sure the people would be less confused.โ€

The senate report also stated that the armed forces chief of staff, interior and defense secretaries were also not told about the campaign. โ€œThe president was fully aware that Purisima was preventively suspended by the Ombudsman on 4 December, 2014; that PNP deputy Director-General Leonardo Espina was designated officer-in-charge of the PNP,โ€ the report said.

The militants โ€œmurdered and robbedโ€ the officers, the Senate report said. Forty-four Police Special Action Force (SAF) officers died during the firefight with rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) group, which forged a pro-autonomy peace settlement with the government last year, and militants from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and Justice for Islamic Mindanao (JIM).

In a previous report by the PNP Board of Inquiry, President Noynoy was also blamed Aquino for the January 25 bloodbath.

Recent indicators show that the beleaguered Philippine presidentโ€™s popularity rating went down from 59 percent in November to 38 percent in March, which is being reported at his lowest since he was elected in 2010.

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