Junk IIRC report!

THIS was the unanimous call of employees, private entities as well as barangay, city and elected officials in Manila who trooped to the Manila City Hall yesterday to protest what they described as the “malicious and unfounded” report of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC).

They slammed the inclusion of Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and Vice Mayor Isko Moreno in the list of those to be charged for the bungled August 23 hostage-taking incident.

The protesters were led by the councilors representing each district –Councilors Nino dela Cruz (1st); Rod Lacsamana, Ruben Buenaventura and Edward Tan (2nd); Bernie Ang, Yul Servo and Re Fugoso (3rd); Atty. Bimbo Quintos XVI (4th); Josie Siscar and Ric Ibay (5th) and Lou Veloso (6th), barangay chairmen Siano Ayroso and Vic Tan and Congressmen led by Sandy Ocampo (6th district), who all either wore black shirts, arm bands or pins while barangay officials and private entities raised banners and streamers calling on President Noynoy Aquino III to junk the IIRC report.

In behalf of Lim, who was then attending a meeting, chief of staff and media bureau chief Ric De Guzman thanked the public for their support and pointed out at least two reasons why Lim and Moreno should not be included in the list which the IIRC recommended for prosecution.

De Guzman noted that in his statement, assistant negotiator Maj. Romeo Salvador said that hostage-taker Capt. Rolando Mendoza told him (Salvador) that he will release all the hostages as soon as he gets his reinstatement to the service.

“Hindi ito nakarating kay Mayor Lim dahil kung nalaman niya ito, kahit sampung reinstatement ay maari sanang naipadala kay Mendoza. Ang kaso, walang nagparating kay Mayor,” he said.

De Guzman also stressed that the order of National Capital Region Command (NCRPO) Director Gen. Leocadio Santiago for Senior Supt. Remus Medina, chief of the Regional Police Intelligence Operations Unit, to use the special action force (SAF) in the assault was not followed.

Again, De Guzman pointed out, this was already out of the hands of Mayor Lim, adding: “Muli, hindi na kasalanan ni Mayor Lim kung hindi SAF ang ginamit kagaya ng iniutos ni Gen. Santiago.”

Atty. Analyn Buan, head of the barangay bureau, took the opportunity to thank all the barangay officials who came to the flag ceremony to present their respective barangay resolutions of support for Lim and Moreno.

The resolutions numbering to hundreds and which started swamping the office of Buan yesterday, generally expressed dismay over the IIRC report and expressed belief that both Lim and Moreno did not commit any ‘mistake, malfeasance or misfeasance’ in the performance of their duties as chairman and vice chairman respectively, of the local crisis management committee.

Itchie Gabayan, Journal Online