Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Friday defended Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim from allegations that he ordered the arrest of the hostage-taker’s brother during Monday’s hostage crisis, which eventually led to the incident’s bloody outcome.
Robredo said Lim supervised the crisis management committee and “followed" all protocols in handling the hostage incident at the local level.
“Mayor Lim was on top of the situation as the head of the crisis management committee," Robredo said in a statement released to the media on Friday.
He added that the Manila mayor has sufficient knowledge on crisis situations like the hostage-taking incident four days ago, having served as a police officer and as a Cabinet member.
“He [Lim] possesses relevant experience as former chief of the Manila Police District, former National Bureau of Investigation director and even a former DILG Secretary," he said.
On August 23, dismissed Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza hijacked a bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipinos. After an 11-hour hostage drama at the Quirino grandstand in Manila’s historic Rizal Park, nine people died — eight tourists and their armed captor. (See: Hostage crisis ends in bloody carnage; 8 hostages dead)
Former MPD head Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, who was ground commander during the incident, told a Senate hearing on Thursday that it was the Manila mayor who ordered the arrest of SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, brother of the hostage-taker.
The arrest reportedly agitated the hostage-taker and prompted him to start gunning down the victims. Lim has denied the allegation, saying he only ordered SPO2 Mendoza to be handcuffed, and not arrested.
This page requires a higher version browser “Ako nag-utos na posasan to restrain his movements. May mga pulis doon na may mga baril. Eh kung mang-agaw ng baril ‘yun [SPO2 Mendoza]?" he said in a television interview.
(I was the one who ordered that he be handcuffed, to restrain his movements. There were policemen there with their firearms. What if he grabbed a gun?)
It turned out the Mendoza brother could not handcuffed because the policemen with him reportedly did not have handcuffs, so he was merely ordered to stay put, according to a QTV news reporter who interviewed Lim.
“Ihahandcuff sana, pero sabi ko ‘wag na ihandcuff. Dalhin na lang ninyo sa headquarters for investigation," the mayor added emphatically.
(He was supposed to be handcuffed, but I said, don't handcuff him anymore. Just bring him to headquarters for investigation.)
Some live radio reports during the side incident had said the police at first did not intend to arrest SPO2 Mendoza but were merely “removing him from the scene" to avoid his interference in the negotiations with his brother.
Results of DILG-DOJ probe in 3 weeks In the same statement, Robredo said that the results of a joint investigation being conducted by his department and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday’s hostage tragedy will be released in three weeks. “We are working as fast and as judicious as we can to find out what really happened," he said in a statement released to the media on Friday. Robredo added that the results of the probe will trace who was really accountable for the lapses in handling and the final outcome of the bloody incident. He likewise said that the task force conducting the investigation, chaired by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, has already interviewed witnesses and survivors, and looked into the procedures conducted by assault team as part of the probe. The DILG chief however maintained that the bloody outcome of Monday’s hostage crisis demonstrated how local police lacks modern equipment and training. “The hostage incident showed the apparent lack of modern equipment and training of our police force, which the previous administration failed to address," he said. Because of this, Robredo directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to allocate more of its budget to intensify the training of police forces and to purchase protective gear for crisis situations. Police probe to take time PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa however admitted that the separate probe currently being conducted by the police may take some time to finish. “Since medyo mahaba-haba yung aaralin natin, medyo matatagalan siguro ito (the event we’re analyzing took some time, so the analysis will also probably take some time). Please bear with us," he told reporters in a separate interview on Friday. Verzosa, who inspected on Friday the ill-fated Hong Thai tourist bus that carried the Hong Kong tourists, said the police had just set up an examination room in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City where the trajectories of bullets that hit the vehicle will be examined. The police chief however assured that the probe will be conducted “technically and scientifically" to assure that all those involved in the bloody incident will be held accountable. The Department of Foreign Affairs has earlier said the Philippine government would have to finish its investigation on the hostage-taking before its officials can meet with representatives of the Chinese government. (See: RP to end hostage probe before meeting with China)—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV,
