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Getulio Pascua Napeñas, Jr. (born July 18, 1959) is a Filipino politician and retired
police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
who served as commander of the
Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...
Special Action Force (SAF) from 2013 until 2015. He is blamed for the ill-fated
Mamasapano clash The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
but earned praise as a man of principle and a true leader of the people.


Education

Napeñas graduated in the
Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...
in 1982. He was one of the officers who was part of the initial batch of officers of the PC SAF, which became the PNP SAF, when it was created May 16, 1983. He was the commander of the Philippine Police Contingent to
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
and he was also one of top of his class and training in special action force. Napeñas then served as chief directorial staff and deputy director of SAF before he was designated as director of the Police Regional Office in the Caraga region in January 2012. He also took master's degree in business administration (1995) in the
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), also officially as the University of the City of Manila, is a Local colleges and universities (Philippines), municipal public university in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It is funded by the city g ...
and master's degree in public administration (1998) in AMA Computer College (now AMA Computer University).


Police career

Napeñas became commander of SAF in December 2013 after replacing Carmelo Valmoria, who was appointed chief of the National Capital Region Police Office. In January 2015, the Mamasapano clash resulted to the death of 44 SAF commandos in gun battles with guerrillas from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ) is an Islamist group based in Mindanao, Philippines, which sought an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, t ...
(MILF). The SAF operation was intended to arrest terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan), a Malaysian bomb maker, and Filipino terrorist Abdul Basit Usman. Marwan was killed during the operation and Usman escaped but was later killed by Moro rebels. As commander, he took full responsibility for the incident while others consider him as a scapegoat. Former President Ramos considered him a "patriot" and "brave" enough to accept the blame. As a result of the Mamasapano clash, Napeñas was relieved from his position and later retires. He ran for
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
under the United Nationalist Alliance in the
2016 Elections Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 April 2016 Djibouti * 2016 Djiboutian presidential ...
but did not receive one of the 12 seats. Napeñas said his main platform focuses on peace and order and the welfare of police and armed forces, as well as other men in uniform. He also told reporters that he decided to run for senator to get justice for the slain police commandos. His candidacy was supported by various groups and was endorsed by Manila Mayor
Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...
. In January 2020, the
Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan () is a special Appellate court, appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving Graft (politics), graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public ...
acquitted Napeñas over
Mamasapano clash The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
:“There is insufficient evidence on record to proceed with the trial against accused Napeñas for usurpation of official functions."


In popular media

Napeñas was portrayed in Mamasapano: Now It Can Be Told by Allan Paule.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napenas, Getulio 1959 births People from La Union Living people Filipino police chiefs Philippine Military Academy alumni United Nationalist Alliance politicians Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila alumni Philippine Constabulary personnel