A spokesman for Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Saturday rejected findings of an official police inquiry about a clash that puts serious doubt on the government's peace process, describing it as speculative.
On Friday, the national police report said the president approved a bungled mission against Muslim rebels that led to the deaths of 44 police commandos. That report piled more political pressure on the beleaguered leader.
The clash last January eroded the trust the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest Muslim guerrilla group, had in the government and cast doubt over their peace process, its chairman Al Haj Ebrahim Murad told Reuters this week.
"We must, therefore, separate the facts from potentially hastily-made conclusions and opinions," Lacierda, who is also a member of Aquino's political party, said in a statement.
The killings outraged politicians, some Catholic bishops and the public and Aquino has faced calls to step down. It has also stalled the peace process with the MILF.
But Lacierda said Aquino should not be faulted because he was not part of a chain of command.
He said Aquino's orders were disobeyed by the suspended police general, Alan Purisima, and the commandos' ground commander Getulio Napenas. These two officers should be held liable for the fiasco, not the president, he added.
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