Former Philippine President Faces Criminal Charges Over Botched Raid<br />" the filing said. that The fact remains that, at the time, particularly before and during the actual implementation of Oplan Exodus, Purisima was under preventive suspension, and<br />that Purisima, despite being under preventive suspension, indeed played an active role in Oplan Exodus,<br />Relatives of the dead officers accused Mr. Aquino and the officials of "criminal negligence," saying<br />that they had approved the operation despite knowing that the police chief, Alan Purisima, had been suspended in an unrelated corruption case.<br />The official, Conchita Carpio Morales, the ombudsman of the Philippines, said there was probable cause to charge Mr. Aquino, his police chief<br />and the head of the commando unit that carried out the operation.<br />By FELIPE VILLAMORJULY 14, 2017<br />MANILA — The official in charge of prosecuting government misdeeds in the Philippines on Friday ordered<br />that criminal charges be filed against former President Benigno S. Aquino III for a botched assault in 2015 on a Muslim rebel camp that left 44 police commandos dead.<br />Cellphone messages between Mr. Aquino and Mr. Purisima, longtime associates, showed<br />that Mr. Purisima "played a major role in the botched operation" despite his suspension, according to a filing in the case by Ms. Morales’s office.<br />Mr. Purisima appeared to have been allowed to participate<br />and run the operation under Mr. Aquino’s oversight, "thereby giving pseudo legal power to a suspended official," Ms. Morales said.
