DOJ chief 'inclined' to meet with HK hostage crisis survivors, victims' kin

Survivors and relatives of the tourists from Hong Kong who were killed in the Aug. 23, 2010 Manila hostage tragedy are seeking an audience with Philippine Justice Sec. Leila de Lima, who told reporters on Thursday she is inclined to heed the request. At a news briefing, De Lima said the survivors and relatives of the victims who lost their lives will arrive in Manila next week, and that they are requesting for a meeting "between August 22 and 24." "They want to air out certain concerns... They want to know the progress of the various pending cases [stemming] from the IIRC (Incident Investigation and Review Committee) report," said De Lima. She also said she wants to address perceptions that the government is sleeping on the recommendations to sanction the personalities liable for failure of the hostage negotiation. "If they think na walang ginagawa 'yung gobyerno diyan sa mga kaso na iyan, well, they should disabuse their minds na ganun nga, na walang nangyayari sa kaso na iyan because gumagalaw naman especially because there are appropriate proceedings," she said.

De Lima herself headed the IIRC, which determined who should be held liable for the 11-hour hostage crisis in August last year at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. A dismissed police captain, Rolando Mendoza, hijacked a busload of tourists from Hong Kong and demanded reinstatement into service and the speedy resolution of the complaint against him filed before the Office of the Ombudsman. The IIRC recommended to be charged over a dozen personalities, but the committee's report was still reviewed and finalized by President Benigno Aquino III's legal advisers headed by Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa and presidential chief legal counsel Eduardo de Mesa. Adopting the IIRC's recommendations and the Palace legal team's review, Aquino ordered the filing of administrative charges against several police officials including then Manila Police District (MPD) Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, the on-scene commander during the crisis, for "gross incompetence and serious neglect of duty." Aquino ordered the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to file the appropriate charges against the following:

• Then National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Leocadio Santiago Jr. for "less grave neglect of duty" because he was the immediate superior of Magtibay but it appears that he did not closely monitor how Magtibay was handling the situation.
• Negotiator Superintendent Orlando Yebra for "neglect of duty" for "failing to appropriately alert his superiors to be ready to take the necessary action when it appeared that Mendoza had already become more agitated and violent after reading the letter from the Ombudsman considering that Mendoza was shouting and even fired a warning shot."
• Manila Police Special Weapons and Tactics Unit head Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual III for "gross incompetence" because of his "failure to formulate an adequate plan to breach the bus."

On Thursday, De Lima said the administrative charges against them are pending before the Napolcom. Aquino also gave instructions "to expedite the resolution of the serious disobedience and conspiracy in illegal detention cases currently lodged against SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza and to instruct the Manila Police District to file appropriate complaints for illegal possession of firearms and serious illegal detention as an accomplice of his brother Rolando Mendoza." The DOJ has conducted a preliminary investigation into the charges against Gregorio, and found probable cause to indict him before the Manila Regional Trial Court. On the other hand, the Aquino administration chose not to follow the recommendation of the IIRC to sanction Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, former Philippine National Police Jesus Verzosa, and Manila City Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno. — LBG, GMA News