Aquino receives IIRC hostage report; 12 may face charges

(Updated 11:57 p.m.) Identifying 12 people as accountable for mishandling the August 23 hostage tragedy, the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) has officially turned over its final report on the incident to President Benigno Aquino III, presidential communications group head Ricky Carandang said Friday. After Aquino received the final report at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, he sat for a closed-door meeting with the IIRC headed by Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Carandang said in an interview with reporters. The IIRC report singled out 12 people as accountable for the fiasco, from among a bigger number of government officials, police officers, and members of the media who were covered by the investigation, De Lima said in a press conference. The investigative panel also recommended criminal and administrative proceedings, or disciplinary action, against the culpable individuals. De Lima refused to divulge the names of the 12, saying it is up to the President to take the next action. Nevertheless, at least one media personality is among the 12, according to an ANC report aired Friday evening. De Lima earlier said on Thursday that at least 10 people were accountable. (See: IIRC: 10 officials, journalists may face hostage crisis raps)
Report to be presented to China Assuring reporters of transparency in informing the public of the report’s contents, Carandang said Aquino will at some point give a public briefing on his response to the report. However, the Philippine government would have to furnish Chinese and Hong Kong officials with the results of the IIRC investigation before releasing the report locally, most likely on Monday, Carandang added. The Aquino administration is planning to send a high-level delegation, including Vice President Jejomar Binay, on a trip to Beijing, whereupon the IIRC report will be formally presented to Chinese officials. But this can only be done after President Aquino concludes his trip to the United States, where he will attend a United Nations summit scheduled from September 20 to 22, Carandang said. The high-level delegation can only go to Beijing and Hong Kong after the President's US trip, Carandang further explained, since Foreign Affairs secretary Alberto Romulo, who is a part of the delegation to China, is joining Aquino on his US trip. He said that Malacañang is still studying other options for informally furnishing the Chinese government with the IIRC report before the local delegation arrives in Beijing. One possibility is to give the Chinese Embassy a copy of the report, but this will have to be cleared with the Department of Foreign Affairs, he added. The Canadian government has reportedly requested for a copy of the report as well. Four of the hostage victims who died are also Canadian citizens. Report has a forthcoming Part 2 Earlier in the day, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that Aquino was already provided an advance copy of the final draft so he could have the opportunity to go over it for possible discussion with the IIRC. Speaking at the Economic Leaders' Business Conference on Friday morning, Aquino said he had already read more than half of the voluminous report, which is over 80 pages long, with lengthy annexes. The President did not elaborate as to whether the entire report or only parts of it would be released to the public. De Lima had earlier said that parts of the report will include the following: recitation of facts, evaluation of facts, identifying who is accountable for the tragedy, and the recommendations. The IIRC head added that the committee is still preparing a second part of the report, which will consist of recommendations on how government institutions can improve their capability to handle hostage incidents and similar crisis situations. The IIRC report was based on testimonies and forensic results which came out during a five-day marathon hearing where key personalities involved in the crisis gave their accounts. Report says hostages were killed by Mendoza gun On the morning of August 23, dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza hijacked a Hong Thai Travel bus where 25 people — 21 Hong Kong tourists, bus driver Alberto Lubang, tour guide Diana Chan, and two Filipino photographers — were on board. He then commandeered the bus to the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, where he publicly announced his demand to be reinstated into police service and for his pending case at the Office of the Ombudsman to be dismissed. When negotiations crumbled by early evening, Mendoza started his shooting rampage, killing eight Hong Kong nationals. The hostage-taker was shot dead in the subsequent assault by the police. During the marathon hearings, there were questions as to whether the victims had been shot by Mendoza or by police forces. Before turning over the report the Aquino, De Lima disclosed that it was Mendoza who definitely shot the hostages, based on testimony from survivors. (See: Mendoza may have killed hostages ‘in all likelihood’ — De Lima) Aquino earlier promised that “heads will roll" over the botched handling of the hostage crisis, even as no government official involved in the negotiations has offered to resign. (See: Palace: Heads will roll in govt over hostage crisis) Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, who was at that time assigned to directly oversee police operations, however, has issued statements to media saying he is willing to resign if he is found culpable for the deaths of the hostages. (See: Report: DILG usec ready to quit over hostage row) The closed-door IIRC meeting with Aquino ended at about 8:30 p.m., but Carandang clarified that the President had to step out of the meeting occasionally to attend to other concerns. Because of this, Carandang said he couldn't tell how long the meeting actually took. —JV with JMA/LRS, GMANews.TV