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10/04/2010
The resumption of the Senate’s inquiry into the Aug. 23 hostage crisis is being hampered by the Palace’s non-submission of a copy of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report to the upper chamber, Sen. Gregorio Honasan yesterday said.
The senator and overall lead in the probe of the hostage incident could not answer queries as to the date of the continuation of the proceedings of his committee on public order together with the justice panel chaired by Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
“What we want is to wait first for the submission of the report so we can see which areas will be needing legislative intervention, if coordinating relation among agencies involved is lacking,” Honasan said in an interview over dzBB.
Up to now, Malacañang or the IIRC has yet to furnish them with a copy despite formal requests made by the Senate.
“We have been telling them to make public its entirety. I think they’re still trying to find the perfect timing to do it. Maybe they’re still reviewing it,” he said.
Honasan added they do not want a duplication of the report, the reason they will try to deal with issues other than those taken up by the IIRC, if and when they call for another public hearing.
Although the IIRC conducted an intensive investigation on the said incident, Honasan said they will likely call for another round of proceedings, as recommended by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, to come up with a consolidated report.
On the matter of continuing with the jueteng scandal hearing, Enrile appeared no longer keen on the upper chamber engaging anew in an investigation on the matter, saying those in the Executive are mandated to address the matter by enforcing existing laws and make those alleged accountable face legal consequences.
“We’re investigating in aid of legislation. We’re not here to do a police job,” Enrile said in a separate interview.
The upper chamber chief noted several “leads” insofar as the alleged jueteng lords, collectors and supposed payolas are concerned, not only in their investigation but also in various reports.
“There are those who seemed to have chosen to be blind amid all these issues. This is a problem that should be addressed by the Executive,” he said.
The issue of Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, who had been accused to be allegedly in receipt, regularly, of jueteng payola, Enrile appeared to be compassionate to him.
“To be fair to Puno, all those that had been said against him were pure hearsay. No one could actually say (they have first-hand information) but my only question to him is this: who are these relatives of yours who have asked you to talk to the jueteng operators? Why didn’t you tell them off? Why only confess about it now?
“The problem with him, there’s a cloud of doubt on him especially since he could not provide an explanation. He should come out forthright, spontaneously and responsibly in answering the questions thrown to them,” he said.
Asked as to when should the next hearing be, Enrile said it’s up to the chairman of the blue ribbon committee to schedule the proceedings. Angie M. Rosales