Noy agonizing over review; Robredo, Puno fates hangs

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino is reportedly agonizing over whether to charge officials other than the police because the recommendations of the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) on the Aug. 23 hostage crisis were generic.

As of Tuesday night, Aquino has refused to say whether Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Undersecretary Rico Puno would be spared from any charges. Palace sources had told The STAR late Tuesday night that the President had decided against charging the two Local Government officials.

“The review (of the IIRC) report will not be released yet,” he said in a text message yesterday.

While the President had made pronouncements that Puno and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim would be cited for neglect of duty, highly placed sources at the Palace said Aquino also remarked Tuesday night that Robredo, Puno and retired Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa would no longer be charged if the IIRC recommendation was to cite them only for negligence.

Aquino reportedly made the decision not to include the three after his Tuesday night dialogue with Puno.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. reportedly wanted Robredo, Puno and Lim charged based on the IIRC report, while the group of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa wanted Robredo and Puno absolved because of lack of concrete administrative and criminal cases that could be leveled against them, the sources said.

But the sources said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima did not want Puno spared.

The President, however, reportedly said that if Puno would be charged, then Robredo would also face sanctions under command responsibility.

As of yesterday, the Palace could not say exactly when the report would be released because the President has decided to first attend to his speech on his first 100 days in office.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the release of the report was deferred because they would want it to be thorough.

She said all questions would be answered once the report was released.

“We are not avoiding any criticisms, we accept it when there are people criticizing us,” Valte said, adding that she could not confirm reports that came out because she still had to talk to the President.

“We will get confirmation when the report is out. But, at this point, we are very careful not to sacrifice quality for speed,” Valte said.

No friendly fire

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the results of ballistics tests have shown no proof of “friendly fire” deaths or injuries in the Aug. 23 hostage-taking incident.

“Based on my cursory review, there is no showing of friendly fire,” De Lima said, referring to the results of ballistic tests done in Hong Kong by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operatives (PNP-SOCO).

De Lima, IIRC chair, said they have yet to consult with private forensic expert Dr. Racquel Fortun to conclusively rule out friendly fire deaths.

“This will still be evaluated by Dr. Fortun. It is still under study,” she said, adding that the report on the ballistic tests would be the last addendum to the IIRC report.

“She (Dr. Fortun) is assisting us in evaluation of reports because these are highly technical. So, we are waiting for evaluation of Dr. Fortun so we can have more input to the addendum,” De Lima said.

“We will be ready to submit the addendum early next week.”

The possibility of friendly fire surfaced in the initial phase of the IIRC investigation last month after it was found that four of the victims had been shot from a distance.

But in its final report, the IIRC said that all eight hostages had been shot dead by the hostage taker, dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza.

Found liable for the botched police rescue of the hostages were Manila Mayor Lim, Puno, Verzosa, former Manila police commander Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Leocadio Santiago, Special Weapons and Tactics unit head Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual, hostage negotiator Superintendent Orlando Yebra, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzales III, and Erwin Tulfo and Michael Rogas, from Radyo Mo Nationwide.

The IIRC also said the liabilities of the three major TV networks – ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7 and TV 5 – are “not that heavy,” while those of Gutierrez were “different from the others.”

IIRC to start second part of probe

The panel would officially start this weekend the second phase of its probe on the hostage incident, focusing this time on institutional reforms needed to enhance the police force’s capability to respond to similar crisis situations.

“We are waiting for copies of manuals, operational guidelines and protocols from National Police Commission (Napolcom),” De Lima said.

“The first thing to do is to make a table review of those documents so we can determine who will be our resource speakers in the open and public proceedings that we will conduct. This review will give the committee its directions on the proceedings,” she stressed.

The IIRC chair said the second part of their probe would be “more substantial and very important” because it would involve “institutional review that will really look at the spectrum of processes and proceedings and policies of the protocols of the PNP.”

“The target is to be able to enhance their capacity in addressing crisis situation, not just hostage-taking but other crisis situations,” she added.

She said they would try to finish the investigation in a month. President Aquino had given the panel 60 days to complete the second phase of the probe.

“We will not waste time,” she said. – Edu Punay