PHL may invoke treaty in HK hostage probe

The Philippines may invoke a foreign treaty that may compel Hong Kong to clarify the scope of its inquest proceedings on the Aug. 23 Manila hostage tragedy. At a news briefing Tuesday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she will write President Benigno Aquino III a memorandum informing him of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between Philippine and Hong Kong governments. "We need to ask Hong Kong authorities to clarify the exact scope of the inquest proceedings… what's the ultimate objective [of the inquest] before we decide on whether to grant the request to send our witnesses there," De Lima said. The Hong Kong Coroner's Court reportedly invited over a hundred Philippine witnesses to shed light into the August 23 hostage-taking incident in Manila that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. The Hong Kong government had earlier expressed dissatisfaction with how Malacañang modified the results of a fact-finding probe on the hostage fiasco. Best legal framework De Lima said the MLAT is "the best legal framework" that will protect the Philippines’ sovereignty as well as its citizens from being prosecuted in a foreign country. "We don’t surrender at all our sovereignty and we protect the rights of these witnesses. Assuming that it’s just purely an investigation, they (Hong Kong Coroner’s Court) have to clarify whether the investigation may lead to prosecution," she said. "If it's within the [MLAT] framework, Hong Kong has to assure that any person who consents to give evidence shall not be subject to prosecution based on his testimony, except for perjury and contempt," the Justice secretary added. De Lima said the memo that she will send to President Aquino may help him become aware of the legal repercussions of sending Philippine witnesses to Hong Kong. She also said that under the MLAT, Hong Kong must send its summons through the proper channels. For example, requests to the Philippine Department of Justice must be sent from Hong Kong's DOJ counterpart. De Lima, however, admitted that she is not sure whether the Hong Kong government is willing to subject itself to the MLAT. Hostage fiasco De Lima headed the Philippine government's Incident Investigation and Review Committee that looked into the hostage-taking incident perpetrated by dismissed police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza. Mendoza hijacked a busload of Hong Kong tourists and commandeered the bus to the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. After an 11-hour standoff, Mendoza was killed in a police assault, but not before he went into a shooting rampage that killed eight of his hostages. The IIRC recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against 13 people, but the recommendations were reviewed and modified by Aquino's legal team. Among the modifications include the absolution of Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno, retired Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, and Manila City Vice Mayor Isko Moreno. The only one who was slapped with criminal charges was the hostage-taker's brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, who is facing conspiracy to commit serious illegal detention and illegal possession of firearms charges. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV