Palace sets new date for release of IIRC review

Malacañang has once again reset the date for releasing the result of its legal review of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report which recommended filing of charges against some of President Benigno Aquino III's most trusted officials in connection with the Aug. 23 hostage tragedy. In a chance interview after he gave his ‘First 100 days’ report at La Consolacion College (LCC) in Manila, Aquino said the Palace's legal review will be released "early part of next week." Aquino said last weekend that the review would be released Wednesday, October 6. On that day, however, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa were still finalizing the review. The IIRC recommended sanctions against government and police officials, as well as media practitioners and outfits who responded to the August 23 hostage crisis that resulted in the deaths of eight tourists from Hong Kong and the hostage-taker, dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza. In a separate interview, De Mesa said "the President intends to come out with the report on Monday." "He wants to be sure that if cases are to be filed, [these] will prosper [in court] and that we will not unnecessarily charge anybody," De Mesa said. De Mesa said there were "not much" changes in the IIRC recommendations: "We are upholding most of the recommendations or just a realignment of certain charges." He refused to divulge details, but answered in the affirmative when asked if the Palace added penalties other than those the IIRC has recommended.
Recommendations modified? GMA News’ sources in Malacañang earlier said Ochoa and De Mesa have already finished their review of the IRRC report. The sources, who requested anonymity, said some of the recommendations of the IIRC, which was headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, were modified. Sources said, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim will be slapped only with administrative charges, while the criminal charges recommended by the IIRC will no longer be pursued. Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, a close friend of the president, meanwhile will no longer face administrative charges recommended against him. Recommended penalties for former Philippine National Police Jesus Verzosa and Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno were likewise removed, GMA News sources said. Also, they said the legal team did not change anything with the recommended administrative charges against Manila Police District (MPD) chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay; National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Leocadio Santiago; Superintendent Orlando Yebra, chief negotiator during the hostage crisis; and Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual, head of the MPD Special Weapons and Tactics team. Sources likewise said the legal team decided to just leave with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas the possible sanctions on media outfits and personalities tagged as liable in the IIRC report. These include Radyo Mo Nationwide anchors Michael Rogas and Erwin Tulfo, DZXL station manager Jake Maderazo, as well as television networks ABS-CBN, GMA-7 and TV5. De Lima refused to comment on the information "leaks," saying she will wait for the release of the Palace review. "We’ll just have to wait for that. Ang importante ay ‘yung findings of facts ng IIRC ay talagang in-adopt en toto and walang dispute or issue on that so the review team had respected the final findings of the IIRC," she said in an ambush interview at LCC-Manila. "Let’s just wait for the results of the review," De Lima said. No mention of IIRC report Aquino did not mention the August 23 hostage crisis in his report on his first 100 days in office, even though it is perceived to be the biggest problem his administration faced so far. The president only talked about the hostage incident during the discussion that followed his speech when he was asked how confidence can be restored in the police. Aquino said the government is now working to improve the police's training and equipment. He said the procurement system for the police is being reformed. "Hindi lang po sa kagamitan, sa kakayahan dapat kumpleto bago isinasabak at isusugal ang kanilang buhay (We're going to improve not just the equipment, but also their skills which must be complete before we put their lives at risk)," he said. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV