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Senate: Speed up probe into bomb blast

By Angie M. Rosales

11/16/2007

Senate leaders yesterday called on authorities to speed up the investigation into the Batasan bomb blast and bring this case to an end amid speculations that the blast is a prelude to a looming declaration of a state of emergency.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan made the twin calls as they raised concern over some sectors fueling allegations that the blast was a plot to justify the declaration of a state of emergency.

Pimentel said Filipinos can’t be faulted for thinking the government had a hand in the Batasan bombing because it happened at a time when President Arroyo continues to hang on to power in the face of a renewed moves for her ouster or resignation due to the growing dissatisfaction over her misrule and corruption in government.

He also noted that when the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City was rocked by an explosion last month, there was instant public reaction that it was the handiwork of the government to divert public attention from the spate of scandals hounding the Arroyo presidency.

“The government must act fast to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible for the Batasan bombing. That is the only way you can restore the confidence of the people. The government must show it is on top of the situation,” the minority leader said.

“But President Arroyo must be warned against doing a Musharraf because she might be tempted to place that at the back of her mind as an option. It is not an option

It is not an option because if she does that, she will have more problems in her hands than she has bargained for,” he added.

With the timing of the Batasan bombing, he said the opposition is tempted to believe that the incident could very well be a part of any plot to destabilize the situation in the country for the purposes of declaring a state of emergency.

He said some groups that are exploiting the present situation may have carried out the bombing.

“I’m not ruling that out. The problem of the government is that it has no shred of credibility whatsoever so that any explanation on its part is always subject to doubt in the minds of the people,” Pimentel said.

Pangilinan, on the other hand, said the public is counting on the authorities for guidance.

“We cannot allow misinformation or hearsay to come from the police. To cut speculations and relieve apprehension once and for all, give us conclusive, trustworthy and transparent findings on the Batasan blast.

“The PNP has been floating that the explosion was an assassination plot against Rep. Akbar, and it is even suggesting that the circumstances in the Batasan blast are reminiscent of Abu Sayyaf-orchestrated attacks in Mindanao. Yet when asked to make a categorical statement if the bombing was a terror attack or not, our police cannot give one,” Pangilinan added.

The majority leader also criticized the government for allowing the bombing to happen.

“What can we expect from a government that cannot even protect its own officials?” he asked.

But for administration Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, the bomb blast was a clear case of an assassination plot.

The former defense minister and sponsor of the anti-terror law or the Human Security Act, said a simple case of murder charges could easily be made against the perpetrators of the crime. “The penalty for killing with explosives is just as heavy as the penalty for terrorism. It’s life imprisonment, with the use of explosive.

“That’s not an act of terrorism. Under the law, no, it is not an act of terrorism. In fact, my surmise is that the target is not Congress. The target is an individual. I think, the target was (the late) Rep. Wahab Akbar,” he said in an interview.

“That was well-planned, pre-meditated, done treacherously. All the qualifications to make it murder, with heavy penalty, are there.

“I have been saying it many, many times. You need coercive intimidation. There must be coercive intimidation and demand. It’s not an attack against an institution.”

Enrile said the issue of the “demand” could be expressed or implied and in the said incident, it was Enrile also pointed out several other factors that an operation was carried out, not by a single person.

“Of course, they have been planning this. They have a look out inside the hall. They’ve been watching him, I am sure. I am just surmising. You cannot do that operation with just a few people. There were several people involved - the people who are watching his people, the people who are watching the pattern of his movement, the people who planted the explosives, the people who triggered it to explode,” he said.

Meanwhile, members of the Legislative Security Bureau under retired Gen. Bayani Fabic are under severe criticism for being ill-equipped and incompetent in handling emergency situations like the bombing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Rep. Joel Villanueva of the partylist Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption, said that the House security personnel are unfit to handle emergencies.

Villanueva, who was near the blast site Tuesday, said that some of the House security personnel were among the first to panic when a bomb exploded at the south wing lobby. “Most of them didn’t know what to do and were just staring at the bloodied victims,” Villanueva said.

Fabic said he understands the sentiments of those who are blaming the whole House security force for what happened.

Villanueva, Reps. Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora and Darlene Antonino-Custodio of South Cotabato were among the first to run to the aid of the blast victims and bring them to nearby hospitals.

Rep. Janette Garin of Iloilo, who is a doctor by profession, was also there to personally attend to the victims at a nearby hospital where the victims were brought.

While the PNP had relieved all the members of the Police Security and Protection Office (PSPO) and reinstalled members of the Special Action Force to secure the Batasan, Speaker Jose de Venecia formed a special committee to beef up the House security.

The special panel is composed of Arthur Celeste, chair of the committee on national defense; Rodolfo Antonino, chair of the committee on public order and security and Roilo Golez, former national security adviser who represents the minority bloc.

Golez said the House must be given full control of its security force similar to the Presidential Security Group of Malacañang and the airport security force.

He, however, said that the three-man committee has decided to do away with a congressional investigation into Tuesday’s bomb attack to give the Philippine National Police a free hand in conducting its probe.

Golez said he will also ask the special committee to order an inventory of all civilian security personnel to determine whether or not everybody is fully accounted for.

The Paranaque lawmaker has received reports that former congressmen who have been elected to various posts such as governors and mayors have brought with them House security personnel.

Sources said that Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte has several House security personnel since he left Congress to run for the mayoralty post while others are working abroad.

Golez said they also frown on the idea of posting heavily-armed and camouflaged police personnel to greet employees and visitors as they enter the Batasan complex.

Golez stressed that SAF’s training may not be appropriate for perimeter security. “SAF personnel are trained for assault and counter-assault. The House is not under siege,” he said.

The committee has asked the PNP to conduct an investigation briefing next week even as they said that a full security plan has also been sought to be prepared.

With Gerry Baldo