Manila: President Rodrigo Duterte met with widows and children of 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) who died in a botched secret operation in Maguindanao, southern Philippines, in January 2015.

“They [families] attended a dialogue with Duterte at the presidential palace,” Malacanang, the presidential palace, said in a statement, adding that Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, PNP chief Director-General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano also attended the meeting.

In a speech last week, Duterte asked why there was no air support from the military when the PNP-SAF undertook the mission, to arrest Malaysian militant Zulkifli Bin Abdhir, alias Marwan.

He also questioned why there was no coordination between the military and the police to make the secret anti-terror operation successful.

SAF commandos swooped down on a hideout of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), to seize Bin Abdhir and Filipino-Muslim militant Bassit Usman, who escaped at the time.

Members of the elite SAF killed Marwan but, as they pulled out of Tukanalipao village in Mamasapano town, they were killed by members of the BIFF and the MILF.

The latter group had forged a pro-autonomy peace settlement with the Philippine government in 2014.

Former President Benigno Aquino came under fire for allowing a suspended police chief to lead the operation.

Government soldiers and MILF fighters were at the time bound by a bilateral ceasefire – and a firefight could have been evaded had Aquino and the PNP informed the military and the MILF about PNP’s secret anti-terror attack, analysts said.

In July 2015, five relatives of the slain SAF members and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption filed a complaint against Aquino, former PNP Director General Alan Purisima and former SAF Director Getulio Napeñas.

The complainants accused Aquino of negligence, imprudence, lack of foresight and lack of skill in the planning, preparation and execution of the anti-terror Oplan Exodus.

They said Aquino was to be held liable for giving Purisima “pseudo-legal power” to execute the anti-terror attack; for breaking the chain of command, and for failing to rescue the elite cops when he and his Cabinet secretaries were in nearby Zamboanga City, southern Philippines, said the complainants.

“Purisima had updated Aquino by text message about the situation on the ground. He (Aquino) could have employed all means at his disposal (to rescue and save the beleaguered SAF members. Yet he chose to stay indifferent,” said the complainants.

Aquino said the complaints were “political harassment”.

His popularity suffered after the incident.