Ebdane ouster still possible, says Palace

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye hinted yesterday that embattled Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. might be replaced sooner than expected.

Bunye said President Arroyo would consider replacing Ebdane if Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, who escaped from his Camp Crame detention cell last Monday, is not recaptured soon.

"That (ouster of PNP chief) still remains a possibility," Bunye said.

Although Bunye clarified the President has not given any timetable, he stressed that the recapture of Al-Ghozi is an urgent matter.

"Of course this is urgent and it must have immediate action and I believe General Ebdane will do all his best to do what needs to be done in order to bring back Al-Ghozi at the soonest possible time," Bunye said.

Mrs. Arroyo on Friday gave Ebdane one last chance to redeem himself amid the backlash from the escape of Al-Ghozi from the PNP-Intelligence Group cell.

Ebdane verbally offered to resign but it was turned down by Mrs. Arroyo who instead ordered him to personally lead a task force that would "exclusively" hunt down al-Ghozi.

Although there was no written courtesy resignation letter, Bunye disclosed Mrs. Arroyo particularly rejected Ebdane’s offer of early retirement.

Bunye justified Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to give Ebdane one last chance, despite mounting calls by several quarters and lawmakers for his resignation.

"The President is aware of the various clamor and what our President did is to exercise her privilege and right to decide on this thing," Bunye said.

"It is still possible to give General Ebdane the time he needs (to recapture Al-Ghozi) and perhaps, these demands for his resignation can be revived later on," he added.

Ebdane had earlier said his resignation will not be a solution to the problem and stressed he would like to recapture Al-Ghozi before he bows out of the service.

But if Ebdane fails to deliver Al-Ghozi as he promised, then Mrs. Arroyo is expected to let go of him, Bunye said.

"I think General Ebdane understood such implications in case he fails to bring back Al-Ghozi," he said.

He said the proposals to relieve Ebdane — following the doctrine of command responsibility — will be among the issues that will be taken into consideration by the independent, fact-finding panel headed by former justice secretary Sedfrey Ordoñez investigating the controversial jailbreak.

Bunye also warned Ebdane against using "short cut methods" which might be seen as a violation of human rights and the police rules of engagement.

"We have rules to follow in the conduct of raids and if these are followed properly. I don’t think there would be any such violations of rights of people who might be affected by any surprise (police) raids," Bunye said.

For his part, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said a revamp in the PNP is "definitely needed" in the wake of the security foul-up.

While admitting the growing clamor for the resignation of Ebdane, De Venecia, however, said the controversy over Al-Ghozi’s escape might not overshadow Ebdane’s achievements.

"What is saving Ebdane is that he has many outstanding achievements," he said, adding that Ebdane "has substantially reduced kidnapping, is strongly leading the battle against drug lords, strongly pushing the campaign against the (communist) New People’s Army and is helping fight the terrorists in Mindanao."

"He has many significant gains but of course the escape of Al-Ghozi is definitely a big blow," De Venecia said.

De Venecia said the only thing for the police to do is to charge those responsible for the escape and recapture Al-Ghozi and his two Abu Sayyaf cohorts.

He added Al-Ghozi’s escape may be a part of the JI’s strategy to free one of its strong agents in Southeast Asia and to help destabilize governments in the region. — With Eva Visperas