Premature conclusions in Atimonan, PNOC
PREMATURE: Even assuming the conclusion of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will be shown later to be accurate that the killing last Jan. 6 of 13 persons on two vans in Atimonan, Quezon, was “anything but a shootout,” her premature statement of findings is unfair and unfortunate.
Given to the media after the reenactment of the massacre, her conclusion was arrived at mainly on the basis of the statements of two civilians who claimed having witnessed the interception and the hail of automatic fire apparently aimed at killing all the vans’ passengers.
At that point, the National Bureau of Investigation, the only agency authorized to probe the incident, was still gathering evidence and testimonies. Despite the fact that the NBI is under her, it was ill-advised for De Lima to have preempted the agency’s final report.
But then, making hasty conclusions on big cases still being investigated is a hallmark of the Aquino administration. GRAFT CHARGES: To stop collusion and corruption in awarding contracts and project implementation, Lopez introduced the innovation of having three bidding committees and requiring full transparency in transactions.
Until the last stage of biddings, nobody knew which of the three committees will handle the transaction, thus minimizing pre-bid negotiations and rigging of the bids.
Retaining the services of former Court of Appeals Justice Myrna D. Vidal, Lopez was able to build a case against three officers linked in her investigation to alleged overpricing of building and other projects. The total loss to the government was estimated at P50 million.
The charges for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act are now being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman.
SYNDICATE: But Lopez said he is disturbed by what he sensed to be a coverup and countermoves of what he suspected to be a syndicate interested in biddings and procurement. “Naturally,” he said, “they have to protect one another through a network built over the years.”
He noted that a new management under a new president and CEO (with Lopez retained as chairman) had placed advertisements in the papers defending the three officers charged before the Ombudsman.
This has raised a question of propriety, because the management had made a public defense of its officers accused of graft without waiting for the official findings of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan.
He said the advertisements were paid from official PNOC EC funds to defend private individuals facing charges before the proper judicial authorities.
Commissioners of the Governance Commission for GOCCs headed by Chairman Cesar L. Villanueva have commended Lopez “for ensuring that the principles of transparent, responsible and accountable” corporate governance had been observed.
Is the act of defending the PNOC EC officials on the carpet another unfortunate premature conclusion in circumvention of the process defined by law?
RESEARCH: Past POSTSCRIPTs can be accessed at manilamail.com. Follow us via Twitter.com/@FDPascual. Send feedback to fdp333@yahoo.com NO SHOOTOUT: In sharp contrast, NBI Director Nonnatus Roxas and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who is on top of the Philippine National Police, have been careful in talking about the ongoing investigation.
But since their boss already announced a conclusion, what is the point in the NBI’s pursuing freely its assigned task? Will it now just gather data to flesh out the secretary’s publicized verdict?
After all, even Malacañang has supported the conclusion of De Lima made after a reenactment directed by the secretary herself.
“I don’t think the Secretary is preempting the investigation,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told the Palace press. “The media also would want details owing to their coverage and we trust that Secretary De Lima is also on hand to provide the proper guidance to the investigation.”
Down the line, the prosecutors and the judges who will try the ensuing cases are thus forewarned that “Atimonan 13” was “not a shootout” but a – choose the right word – massacre, ambush, rubout, liquidation, carnage or mass murder.
COPLAN OKAYED?: Also in Malacañang, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said the PNP-AFP joint operation to “neutralize” a suspected jueteng operator (who was among the “Atimonan 13”) did not have PAOCC approval.
This contradicts the claim of Chief Supt. James Melad, Calabarzon police director who has been suspended, that the operation plan codenamed “CoPlan Armado” had been approved by PAOCC.
If disapproved, how come the Palace released P100,000 for it? Chief Supt. Reginald Villasanta, PAOCC executive director, explained that the amount was just for intelligence gathering, not for operations.
But Melad’s lawyer said the intelligence part of the Coplan was already completed when it was submitted to, approved and initially financed by the PAOCC.
Amid the rigmarole, other jueteng lords in other regions are served notice that they better lie low in the meantime and, if they know what is good for them, shut up.
REVENUE BOOST: At the PNOC Exploration Corp., its chairman Mel Lopez Jr. stands at the crossroads of the administration’s “Daang Matuwid” as he applies his ingrained high ethical standards in purging the wayward elements in the government-controlled firm.
When we heard that the PNOC EC in his first year of stewardship declared dividends in 2011 of more than P5 billion – P4.997 billion going to the national government which owns 99.67 percent of equity – we wondered how he accumulated the big pile.
The little known entity is engaged in oil, gas and coal exploration and development. That year, it became the third biggest contributor among governmentowned and -controlled corporations, after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Lopez also raised gross revenues in 2011 from P8 billion to P10 billion by improving efficiency, cutting costs and demanding strict honesty among PNOC EC personnel.