Lim asks DILG to dismiss raps over Luneta hostage slays

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to dismiss the administrative charges filed against him in connection with the bungled police rescue operation in the hostage-taking incident at Rizal Park in Manila last year.

Lim was accused of simple neglect and misconduct over the botched rescue operation that resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage taker in front of the Quirino Grandstand on Aug. 23, 2010.

In a 39-page memorandum filed at the DILG, Lim’s lawyer Renato de la Cruz claimed that the proceedings before the DILG were irregular since there was no formal complaint that was duly subscribed to nor were there complaining witnesses with sworn statements submitted to the office as provided under Administrative Order 23.

De la Cruz said AO 23 prescribes the rules and procedures on the filing and investigation of administrative disciplinary cases against elective local officials in Metropolitan Manila.

The AO was supposed to protect the rights of an elective local official.

“Respondent (Lim) had known of the administrative charges against him only through the notice served upon him to file an answer. But the DILG failed to furnish respondent copy of any sworn complaint against him nor the specification of the charges that should warrant his administrative investigation for alleged simple neglect of duty or simple misconduct,” De la Cruz said.

De la Cruz said Lim was deprived of his right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against him.

“Regrettably, respondent was not given the opportunity to meet the witnesses against him face to face. Worse, there was no witness presented against him. Needless to say, there is no way by which he would be able to expose the falsity of the accusations against him because of the procedural misstep,” said De la Cruz.

Copies of the memorandum were also sent to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

De la Cruz said Lim’s acts relative to the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident did not amount to simple neglect of duty and/or misconduct.

“The lapse in the operational control should not be attributed to respondent mayor. This, because it is the ground or on-scene commander, who, under the law, exercises direct command and control over all negotiation, operations, support and public affairs group and for whom all orders at the scene of the crisis incident must emanate,” he stressed.

“Furthermore, the handling of the hostage crisis is well within the competence and jurisdiction of the PNP (Philippine National Police),” he also said.

Lim blamed the police officers handling the hostage situation as the persons culpable for the botched hostage rescue.

Several police officials were relieved after the hostage crisis when former Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, who was dismissed from the police force in 2009 for extortion, commandeered a Hong Thai Travel tourist bus in Intramuros and held hostage 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipino guides for several hours in front of the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park.

The suspect, armed with an M16 rifle and a pistol, had released several hostages before the Manila police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team assaulted the bus, resulting in the death of the hostage taker and eight tourists.

Police hostage negotiators said Mendoza turned violent due to frustration after failing to get his demand to be reinstated to the police force.

Mendoza also started shooting the hostages when he saw through the television on board the bus the live footage of his brother Senior Police Officer 2 Gregorio Mendoza being arrested.

Gregorio was accosted for failing to help in the negotiation.

The incident investigation and review committee (IIRC), chaired by De Lima, later recommended to President Aquino the filing of administrative charges against Lim, who was head of the crisis management committee (CMC) during the hostage crisis.

The IIRC report said that Lim could be charged with simple neglect due to his failure to fully activate the CMC, and for his questionable decision to leave the crisis management operation center during the critical period of the hostage crisis.

It said Lim could also be charged with misconduct for ordering the arrest of Gregorio Mendoza, which drove the hostage taker to go on a shooting rampage.

But in his memorandum, De la Cruz stressed that there is no legal or factual basis to hold Lim administratively liable for simple neglect of duty as the mayor belied allegations of failure to reactivate the CMC.

Lim averred that upon learning of the ongoing hostage taking, he immediately convened the CMC and gave clear directives to all department heads and concerned officials.

“Thereafter, ambulances and fire trucks, both boarded by the necessary personnel, arrived at the area. These are all local resources provided by the directive of the mayor (Lim), functioning as the CMC chairman,” said De la Cruz.

De la Cruz also said there was no formal written activation of the CMC since the situation called for an immediate response.

“No law, circular or memorandum requires such activation in writing,” he said.

De la Cruz cited the findings of the review panel, which stated that DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno advised the President that the CMC was in place and that he and resigned MPD director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, as ground commander, were supervising the hostage crisis.

De la Cruz said there is no basis to say the CMC was never activated.

“Corollarily, it is a fallacy to conclude that the serious lapses in the basic operational actions were due to the alleged non-activation of the CMC,” said De la Cruz.

He said that Lim’s job as CMC chairman is at most advisory in nature.

“Clearly, it was the on-scene or ground commander who has operational control of the four actions groups - negotiation group, operational group, support group and the public affairs group,” said De la Cruz.

He said each group has its defined tasks and all are under the direct control and supervision of the on-scene commander.

“Respondent should not be blamed for the bungled handling of the hostage crisis since it was beyond his power and authority to intervene or countermand any operational decisions that the ground commander made,” he said.

“Since we are talking about neglect of duty, Lim asserted that it is behooved the IIRC and the review committee to point out the specific rule or regulation concerning the rule of local chief executives as head of the CMC because, absent that, there is no neglect of duty to speak of,” said De la Cruz.

On the simple misconduct, Lim strongly denied he ordered the arrest of the hostage-taker’s brother Gregorio.

“When he was told of what transpired during the handling of the ombudsman’s order, and seeing Gregorio uneasy and troubled by the looks of his face, he asked the police to handcuff Gregorio, not to arrest him, as erroneously concluded in the report. One thing is to arrest and to handcuff is another,” said De la Cruz.

To further dispute such erroneous conclusion that the order emanated from Lim, De la Cruz said the mayor did not insist on handcuffing Gregorio after his restiveness disappeared.

On the other hand, De la Cruz said it appears from the review report of Oct. 8, 2010 that Lim’s act of alleged misconduct only stemmed from the mayor’s suggestion to bring Gregorio to Tondo, which was erroneously seen as an order to “execute” Gregorio.

De la Cruz said that there was no order to bring Gregorio to Tondo, only a suggestion.

De la Cruz also said that to assume that taking someone to Tondo meant “execution” is another absolutely malicious presumption, as this is plain speculation with no evidence.

“Tondo is not synonymous with death row or place for summary execution. How could the IIRC, nay review committee, conceive of said idea except to plainly speculate and assume that Tondo is the place for summary execution?” De la Cruz added.