Senate to resume hostage investigation next week

The Senate is set to conduct another hearing next week on the August 23 hostage tragedy which resulted in the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists, Senator Gregorio Honasan said Thursday. Honasan, who heads the Senate committee on public order, said the hearing plans to focus on the grievance mechanisms of the state and the relationship of local officials and the police in handling crisis situations. He also said they will look into the weaknesses of these government offices and the limitations of their existing rules and regulations, which might help them craft any needed legislation. Earlier, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri asked the Senate to ask the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) for a complete copy of their report on the hostage-taking incident. But Honasan said they will not look into what has been taken up by the IIRC, adding that they will continue with the hearing even if they are not provided with a full copy of the report. "The gaps that might have been left by the IIRC, we will try to cover," he said during a weekly forum at the Senate. He added that they do not plan to add to the list of personalities whom the IIRC said should be held liable for the outcome of the hostage tragedy. "(It is) not within our mandate to look at the culpability of the (personalities) involved. (Our) job is to look at the law and everything that falls under (it)," he said. Honasan said they plan to invite Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo, and hostage negotiator Superintendent Orlando Yebra to the hearing. The Senate has already conducted two hearings on the hostage tragedy, with the first one focusing on what happened on August 23 and the next one focusing on media's role in the outcome of the hostage-taking incident. Honasan said he still has to consult with Senator Joker Arroyo whether they will summon media executives again since the major television networks have already agreed to craft guidelines on how to act during crisis situations. Meanwhile, Honasan said he welcomes any parallel investigation on the tragedy, like that of the possible probe to be conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV