MANILA, Philippines?Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo?s chances of being confirmed by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) now hang in the balance in view of the bungled rescue of Hong Kong tourists held hostage on Aug. 23, according to an ally of President Aquino.
Sen. Francis Escudero, a member of the 13-person Senate contingent in the commission, said Robredo would be quizzed on his actual role during the daylong hostage crisis, which left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Escudero said members of Mr. Aquino?s Communications Group?Secretaries Edwin Lacierda, Sonny Coloma and Ricky Carandang?would also have to face the commission, partly to explain matters such as the structure that includes three officials ranked as ?secretary? with separate budgets.
He said the commission would begin work next week with the Palace appointees? submission of credentials.
?As long as the three of them want the title of ?secretary,? they should face the Commission on Appointments,? Escudero told reporters. ?They can?t have the title but not the responsibility and accountability attendant to their job.?
The Communications Group has come under fire over blunders committed this early in the President?s term, including the conflicting statements from Coloma and Carandang on the issue of Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang?s phone call to Mr. Aquino at the height of the hostage crisis.
Escudero also commented on a report that Lacierda had threatened to sue a Tribune reporter for libel over her newspaper?s negative stories about the Palace. (Lacierda denied making such a threat.)
?No government official should be too thin-skinned insofar as criticisms are concerned,? the senator said. ?We owe it to our people to answer whatever question is thrown at us, however unfair we may think it is.?
Dodging bullets
Asked if the hostage crisis had jeopardized Robredo?s confirmation as interior secretary, Escudero said: ?I think so because of questions still waiting for answers.
?But it?s good that we had a challenge like this early in President Aquino?s term, so whoever thought their job was easy would not take it easy anymore.?
He expressed the hope that those ?appointed and trusted by the President would learn to accept responsibility and not dodge whatever bullet comes their way.?
?In their effort to escape responsibility, that bullet might end up hitting the President,? he said.
Escudero said Robredo should have the ?core competence? in handling hostage crises by virtue of his position.
He pointed out that the two agencies involved in the Aug. 23 crisis?the Manila city government and the Philippine National Police?were under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Escudero claimed to have been ?confused? by Robredo?s announcement that he had early on put Undersecretary Rico Puno in charge of police matters. Robredo, a long-time and multi-awarded mayor of Naga City, supposedly preferred to concentrate on local governments.
The unusual arrangement at the DILG surfaced after Robredo was criticized as lacking in leadership during the hostage crisis.
?This is one of the things he would have to clarify, not only in the investigation [of the hostage crisis] but, more importantly, before the Commission on Appointments,? Escudero said. ?If he?s not the secretary of the whole department, he might as well face a small part of the commission.?
Asked if Robredo should step down, the senator said: ?Resignation is a voluntary act on the part of the official. If it is imposed, it is no longer called resignation.?
No cause
But the civil society group Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership, of which Robredo is a member, said there was no cause for his resignation.
In a statement issued Thursday, Kaya Natin! said Mr. Aquino?s recent remarks cleared Robredo of blame for the bungled rescue.
?In Mr. Aquino?s statement, which was published in several major newspapers, he clearly said that he had made a previous arrangement for Secretary Robredo to focus on local government matters and designated Undersecretary Rico Puno to be more directly in charge of the PNP. Thus, it was Puno and not Robredo whom Mr. Aquino said was partly to blame for the botched response of the PNP,? it said.
The group said it was supporting Mr. Aquino?s move to convene the investigation of the hostage crisis under the leadership of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Robredo.
?We believe that persistent calls made by some of our government leaders for Robredo to resign from his position and/or to inhibit himself from the ongoing investigation are unjustifiable and baseless,? Kaya Natin! said.
?We believe that a swift, fair and impartial investigation ... will help restore the credibility of our nation?s government in the eyes of the international community,? it said.
The statement was signed by Kaya Natin! members including former Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio, former Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, and former Bukidnon Rep. Neric Acosta.
Through Puno?s eyes
Coloma said Puno, like the other officials assigned tasks during the hostage crisis, reported the developments to Mr. Aquino.
?They were in close coordination with each other. President Aquino was monitoring [the situation] through Undersecretary Puno,? Coloma said at Thursday?s news briefing in Malacañang.
?All who were given assignments were reporting to [the President] periodically,? he added.
Asked if Puno reported directly to the President as a matter of course, Coloma said: ?No. ?Undersecretary? means a subordinate of the secretary, so he reports to Secretary Robredo... The term speaks for itself.?
Coloma said Mr. Aquino respected ?the proper delineation of responsibilities? among the Cabinet officials.
?The role of the undersecretary in any department is to support the secretary. So that is true for Undersecretary Puno [and] for every undersecretary. That is true for DILG and for the other departments,? he said.
Credentials
In an interview last night with GMA 7, Puno said he was willing to step down if his services were no longer needed: ?Kung di na ako kailangan, walang problema sa akin yun.?
Puno was then Senator Aquino?s consultant at the Senate committees on public order and safety and on illegal drugs from 2007 to 2009.
In fact, he was ?responsible for the successful senatorial campaign of Senator Aquino in 2007, as he was the overall ground commander during the said campaign,? according to a profile provided by Malacañang.
He also served as a consultant of the Senate special oversight committee on economic affairs from 2009 until July 4 this year. As such, he worked closely with the military and police in connection with their required budget appropriations and equipment.
Asked about Puno?s qualifications in the field of law enforcement, Coloma said: ?Well, his qualifications are along those lines.
?His background has more exposure in the field of law and order. I am trying to make it clear that it doesn?t mean Secretary Robredo has no responsibility; I am just pointing out who has the primary responsibility.?
Puno?s profile showed that he was president of the Far East Ballistics Corp. from 1992 to 1995, ?where he implemented policies for the improvement and development in the production of ammunition.?
He was said to have ?strengthened the research and development department, which resulted in the creation of better-quality firearms, ammunition and related products,? and was also ?instrumental in creating new markets for the products of the company as he opened its doors to the PNP and [the military].?
Puno was also an officer of the National Range Officers? Institute and the Philippine Practical Shooting Association.
Mr. Aquino is a known gun enthusiast.
P-Noy ?not to blame?
Ex-President Joseph Estrada Thursday said Mr. Aquino should not be blamed for the hostage crisis.
He told the Inquirer that the ones at fault were Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, head of the local crisis management committee, and police officials led by PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa.
?He should resign,? Estrada said of Verzosa. ?The President doesn?t have to be at the scene of a hostage drama. That?s why you have the chain of command. The fact that the PNP chief left at the height of the crisis was unacceptable.?
Escudero said it was ?possible? that the hostage drama would affect Mr Aquino?s trust rating.
?But it?s part of what you call governance,? he said. ?You encounter challenges that might raise or drag down your numbers.? With a report from Alcuin Papa
