By Leslie Ann Aquino
Should former president Benigno Aquino III be held accountable for the Mamasapano massacre in Maguindanao in 2015?
Senatorial aspirant Florin Hilbay said: “No.”
Senatorial candidate Florin Hilbay (MANILA BULLETIN)
The former solicitor general said a leader cannot be held liable for his subordinate’s failure.
“Sa aking pananaw, nagbigay s'ya ng isang utos sa kanyang subordinate, hindi nagawa ng kanyang subordinate 'yung utos na 'yon. Hindi puwedeng managot ang isang pinuno sa kamalian ng kanyang subordinate,” he said.
(In my opinion, he gave an order to a subordinate, but his subordinate failed to do his order. A leader can't be held liable for his subordinate's failure.)
The Mamasapano encounter in Mindanao led to the death of 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF).
The PNP-SAF were out to arrest suspected Malaysian bomb expert "Zulkifli Bin Hir or "Marwan" in the remote village of Tuka na Lipao in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao when they clashed with armed groups including members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Asked if Aquino should also be held responsible for the Dengvaxia controversy, Hilbay said the matter should be left to the courts.
“Iyan po ay isang usaping legal. Hindi po natin masasagot 'yan dahil 'yan po ay nasa korte. Kung may responsibilidad ang presidente, dapat ang korte ang magsabi,” he said.
(That is a legal issue. We cannot answer that because the case is still in court. If the president is responsible, it should be the court who should say that.)
Hilbay was among the nine senatorial candidates featured during the " Harapan 2019: The ABS-CBN Senatorial Town Hall Debate" Sunday.