HOSTAGE ISSUE: HONG KONG DISAPPOINTED OVER REVIEW OF IIRC REPORT
MANILA, OCTOBER 16, 2010 (STAR) By Carina Roncesvalles - The Hong Kong government has expressed disappointment over the Philippine government's "lessened actions" against the officials who should be held accountable for the Aug. 23 hostage tragedy.
Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region (SAR) Chief Executive Donald Tsang issued a statement saying the people of Hong
Kong expected a more serious move against the officials involved in the Aug. 23 hostage fiasco.
"Hong Kong people expect the Philippine government to handle the question of responsibility of the officials and persons involved in a fair manner, and follow through the required actions seriously," Tsang said.
He said the Philippine government instead decided to lessen the recommended actions against the officials named liable by the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC).
"The people of Hong Kong, especially the survivors and the victims' families, will find this hard to accept. The Hong Kong SAR government is also disappointed," Tsang said.
He said the Hong Kong government had pointed out that the Philippine government owes "accountability" to the hostage victims and survivors.
"The eventual actions to be taken against the persons involved must live up to their pledge to be accountable to the public. That is also what is owed to the dead and the injured. We will convey our views to the Philippine government through proper channels," the statement said.
The Hong Kong government also urged Philippine authorities to complete the investigation into the causes of death of the eight victims.
"We hope the Philippine government will make public their findings as soon as possible. As far as we understand, the Review Committee of the Philippines will in due course submit a second report on the review of the mechanism and procedures of handling similar incidents. We hope the report will come up with concrete improvement measures to avoid recurrence of such tragedies," the statement continued.
Chinese embassy Deputy Chief of Political Section and spokesman Sun Yi said the embassy received a copy of Malacañang's review of the IIRC report.
"The Chinese side looks forward to effective measures to be taken by the Philippine side to address the related issues concerning the incident in an earnest and appropriate manner," Sun said.
Asked if China was also disappointed with the results of the review, Sun said, "It is totally up to the Philippine side to take measures accordingly."
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines respects the sentiment of the Hong Kong SAR government.
President Aquino, on the other hand, said he would issue an official statement as soon as he receives the letter from the Hong Kong government.
"As soon as we receive the letter, we will respond (to it)," he said.
At the same time, Mr. Aquino maintained that only administrative charges should be slapped on the officials involved in the botched hostage rescue attempt, with the exception of SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza who is facing illegal possession of firearms charges.
Mr. Aquino justified the administrative sanctions against the seven officials, four of them police officers.
"Otherwise, we will just be filing frivolous cases that we know will be dismissed in the end. To be charged criminally, there has to be a law that was violated," he stressed.
Mr. Aquino had called for minor charges against police and government officials singled out by a high-level inquiry as responsible for the fiasco.
Mr. Aquino declared he is determined to revive tourism in the country and bring back foreign visitors who have stayed away after eight Hong Kong residents were killed in the hostage crisis.
"Now, in tourism in particular, we are the laggards as far as Southeast Asia is concerned. We have a three-million tourist population that comes in compared to Malaysia's 22 million and Thailand's 14 million," Mr. Aquino said.
"There are so many areas of the country that can be exploited but are not accessible," he said, pledging to increase state funding to improve roads and airports.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) also pledged increased protection for tourists.
PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said the numbers of special tourist protection units assigned to top tourist draws would be boosted to deter criminals.
"In coordination with tourism authorities, (police are) fielding more police personnel to man these Special Tourist Protection Units as preemptive measure against crime syndicates that prey on foreign and local tourists," he said. Bacalzo said these units would operate in major tourist destinations including Baguio, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Tagaytay and Davao. Bacalzo said police have been giving seminars in parts of the country with relatively large tourist or expatriate populations to educate members of the public on personal security measures. With Delon Porcalla, Pia Lee-Brago
LIM DENIES HAVING FULL CONTROL OF MPD DURING AUG 23 HOSTAGE
(STAR)By Sandy Araneta - Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim denied yesterday that he was in full control of the police during the hostage-taking incident at Rizal Park in Manila last Aug. 23 where eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage taker were killed.
Lim clarified that he was also not fully informed of developments during the hostage crisis.
He said that relieved Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, the on-scene commander in charge of operations, never talked to him.
Lim said that he only learned that the hostage taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, offered to release the hostages, handcuff himself and get out of the bus voluntarily the moment he gets his reinstatement, when assistant negotiator Chief Inspector Romeo Salvador testified before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Lim said he would have given Mendoza such reinstatement orders had the information been relayed to him.
President Aquino had ordered the filing of administrative charges against Lim, Magtibay, relieved National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Leocadio Santiago, chief negotiator Superintendent Orlando Yebra Jr., Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual, head of the MPD Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, and Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzalez III.
Mr. Aquino ordered the filing of criminal charges against the hostage taker's brother, Senior Police Officer 2 Gregorio Mendoza, for allegedly aiding the suspect.
Malacañang's legal team headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. referred to the House of Representatives "for appropriate action" the case of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
The hostage taker was reportedly enraged by Gutierrez's not being clear about acting on his demand for reinstatement in the police force.
The President exonerated Interior and Local Government Secretary Rico Puno, retired Philippine National Police chief Jesus Verzosa and Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno.
"The participation of Moreno appears to be limited to being the liaison between the negotiators/CMC (crisis management committee) and the Office of the Ombudsman. It does not appear that he was officially one of the decision makers of the CMC and, hence, it is not clear if he had any obligation to remain in the Luneta PCP (police community precinct)," said the Palace review team.
TV-5 anchor and RMN reporter Erwin Tulfo and reporter/anchor Mike Rogas have also been cleared but were reprimanded for reportedly interfering in police work.
The Manila mayor said he is fully aware that the local crisis management committee's role was confined to purely staff functions and the formulation of guidelines and policies during barricaded and hostage situations, while the operations lie on the shoulder of the critical incident management task force headed by Magtibay.
"I also learned that there were orders, issued three times, to use the special action force in case of an assault only after the incident," Lim added.
Lim said the statements made by Magtibay pointing to him as the one giving orders during the incident are nothing but an "afterthought."
The mayor expressed confidence that the truth will bear him out in the end, especially since he has witnesses to prove who is telling the truth and who is not.
On Magtibay's statement that the order to handcuff Mendoza's brother Gregorio was the tipping point that messed up the situation, Lim clarified that his order was meant merely to immobilize Gregorio and was prompted by negotiator Yebra's report that he will have Gregorio charged as a conspirator after he incensed his brother by saying that his gun had not been returned.
Lim said he now regrets that he took back the order to handcuff Gregorio.
The incident investigative and review committee (IIRC) had earlier recommended the filing of appropriate charges against Lim, Magtibay, Puno, Verzosa, Santiago, Yebra, and Pascual.
Also included were Ombudsman Gutierrez and Deputy Ombudsman Gonzales, and Vice Mayor Moreno.
The panel also recommended the filing of charges against broadcasters Tulfo and Rogas. The IIRC also found liable the executives of the country's three biggest television networks, ABS-CBN Channel 2, GMA-7 and ABC TV-5. Magtibay earlier went on leave while five other police officers were relieved because of their hesitation and lapses during the assault on the tourist bus where dismissed policeman Mendoza held the tourists hostage.
Mendoza, who was dismissed from the police force last year for extortion, commandeered last Aug. 23 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. - With Non Alquitran, Mike Frialde
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