DOJ panel clears military in top botanist's death

(Updated 3:45 p.m.) A Department of Justice (DOJ) fact-finding panel on Thursday cleared the military from any liability in the death of noted Filipino botanist Leonard Co and his two companions in Leyte last November. Instead, the panel put the blame on the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the firm that hired Co, forest guard Sofronio Cortez, and guide Julius Borromeo to catalog plant species in the forests of Kananga for company's BINHI Program. The military said the three were killed in a crossfire when Army soldiers encountered suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the area on Nov. 15, 2010. "The incident could have been avoided if EDC officials were diligent on their security for their personnel in their area," the DOJ panel said in its report. It added that ballistics report from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed that none of the firearms submitted by the Philippine Army matched the bullets recovered from the bodies of the victims. Promptly, the Armed Forces Central Command welcomed the development. "This is definitely good news for our soldiers... this supports the contention of our soldiers [belonging to the 19th Infantry Battalion] and the result of our initial investigation," said Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva, Centcom chief. As of posting time, EDC Corporate Communications Deputy Manager Toni Nieva said the lawyers of the firm were still in a meeting regarding the panel's finding. But in a statement issued in November, the EDC said proper coordination was made with the Philippine Army regarding the victims’ activity in the area, and that the military had given them the go signal to proceed. "What we do know is that EDC had informed the Philippine Army Command responsible for security in the area of Professor Co’s planned route and activities and had received positive confirmation for them to proceed before they entered the area," EDC president Richard Tantoco said in the statement. Imprudence The DOJ fact-finding panel said failure of the EDC to undertake "necessary precautions" points to the conclusion that the EDC is liable for reckless imprudence that resulted in the deaths of Co, Cortez, and Borromeo. "The liability comes from the imprudence or negligence they have handled in the security of their personnel in their premises as well as the lack of coordination with the military in terms of activities in the area despite receipt of report that should have put them on alert or heightened security awareness," it said. The panel said EDC officials were aware of communist threat to the company premises but did not give “proper importance" to such information and did not act accordingly. The panel likewise said the military could not be charged with criminal acts because their activities in the area were “legitimate." Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, however, said she still has to review the recommendation of the panel, which was headed by Assistant State Prosecutor Diosdado Solidum, Assistant State Prosecutor Bryan Jacinto Cacha, NBI Death Investigation Division head Romulo Asis. "I cannot touch the findings of fact because I am not a fact-finder. I cannot touch that, (but) the recommendation is something I can review, something I can act on," she said at a press briefing Thursday. The Commission on Human Rights had announced that they too will conduct an investigation into the incident. — KBK/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV