Aquino admits DILG's Puno had lapses but....

REINA MERCEDES, Isabela — President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Friday admitted that Interior Secretary Rico Puno had lapses in performing his functions and in the way he faced inquiries over his involvement in two major controversies. In the same breath however, Aquino maintained that there is a "campaign to disparage the reputation" of his longtime friend, who is currently under fire for the handling of the August 23 hostage crisis where eight tourists from Hong Kong were killed. Retired Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz also accused Puno of receiving monthly jueteng payola, a charge that the undersecretary has denied. Aquino said that upon his return from a working visit in the United States, he and Puno had a long talk, wherein he "raised eight or nine points" with his DILG official. "The last time I talked to him I pointed out so many errors eh. How he answered, how he prepared for the questions, baka yung trust was misplaced," Aquino said vaguely, although he was apparently referring to the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) hearings where Puno was interrogated. As undersecretary for peace and order, Puno was in charge of the Philippine National Police and reported directly to the president during the hostage crisis. By "misplaced trust," Aquino said: "I told him to do certain things, he trusted the activities to certain other people, and these people did not push through, did not carry through." He said he also talked to Puno about the jueteng controversy "partially" but said the discussion was more on "practical tips" on how Puno should perform his functions. "Andaming (There are a lot of) practical tips on the things that have to be done and how it should be done," he said. "Nagkaron naman kami ng (We had a ) meeting of the minds." UPLB graduate Still, Aquino defended his buddy, whose planned courtesy resignation was halted because the president wanted to give him due process. "We've been together for a very long time. There is really a campaign to disparage his reputation for instance. Up to now nobody said he's also an agriculturist," Aquino said. "Andaming skills [ni Puno pero] pag tinitignan mo para bang tambay sa shooting range lang siya eh. UPLB graduate yan (University of the Philippines in Los Banos). He has a lot of skills but he's being portrayed as just a fixture in a shooting range. He's a UPLB graduate," he said. Puno, a distinguished marksman like Aquino, served as a board member of the National Range Officers Institute and the Philippine Practical Shooting Association. He was also president of the Far East Ballistics Corporation from 1992 to 1995 and was instrumental in "creating new markets for the products of the company as he opened its doors" to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Aquino said the public will know on Monday whether Puno would be penalized for his involvement in the hostage crisis when the president reveals Malacañang's legal review of the IIRC report. — RSJ, GMANews.TV