Ombudsman junks Iloilo gov's appeal

The Office of the Ombudsman in Visayas has junked the motion for reconsideration lodged by Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas Sr on his dismissal order, dzBB radio reported Tuesday. However, Tupas' lawyers questioned the junking of the motion for reconsideration, even as they maintained the Ombudsman can only recommend and cannot order the dismissal of a local executive. Lawyers of the governor also said that while they expected the Ombudsman to junk their plea, they plan to bring the matter before the Court of Appeals. Also, they questioned as well the "haste" with which the Ombudsman handed down its decision. Last January, the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Tupas, an ally of "opposition" Sen. Franklin Drilon, for an alleged graft case. Some 200 policemen stormed the provincial capitol last January 17 to "enforce" the dismissal order. On Wednesday last week, the Senate adopted the joint report of the Committees on Local Government as well as Public Order and Illegal Drugs which found that the Office of the Ombudsman is powerless to remove public officials. The panels, which investigated the Iloilo seige, noted that a public official can only be removed through a court order. "Based on the foregoing findings fo the Joint Committees, after having closely examined the powers and functions of the Ombudsman as provided under the 1987 Constitution, it is hereby clearly established that the Office of the Ombudsman has no power to remove public officials from office. And that the Office of the Ombudsman is vested only with an advisory and recommendatory function," the report said. Also in its report, senators found that police officers who raided the Iloilo provincial capitol used excessive force against unarmed civilians in violation of the police's "rules of engagment." The Senate committees recommended the reassignment of Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Dulay Sr, police regional director for Western Visayas, and a reshuffle of police officers in the region. Dulay ordered the siege on the provincial capitol. "It is evident that the PNP clearly did not adhere to its own Operational Procedures and Rules of Engagement as there was excessive use of force and violent enforcement of the dismissal orders for Governor Tupas as graphically captured on video and TV," the Senate report indicated. "Even the local officials led by the governors of Region VI (Western Visayas) were so incensed by the illegal dismissal orders and the violent assault of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol that all were in unison in asking for the reshuffle/ reassignment of those involved to other regions," it also noted. The two Senate committees urged the PNP to effect the reshuffle "soonest so that the trust and confidence of the people to the PNP will be restored" and likewise proposed that the police leadership "re-orient its personnel on the proper execution of crowd control and dispersals operations and procedures." "No doubt, there was an unwarranted use of the Regional Mobile Group for Crowd Control whose members committed highly offensive acts against civilians during their assault of the provincial capitol," the panels stressed. They branded the raid as "unwarranted and uncalled for" and said a "condemnation from the Joint Committees" was justified. The joint committee report also urged the Commission on Human Rights to continue the identification and prosecution of the police officers involved in the dispersal At the same time, the two committees chided Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for their roles in the siege. It also said Interior Undersecretary Wencelito Andanar should be censured for "prematurely enforcing" the order of the Ombudsman dismissing Tupas and provincial board members Domingo Oso Jr and Cecilia Capadosa. It noted that "Puno and Andanar were aware of existing laws and Supreme Court jurisprudence that allow the three Iloilo officials to file an appeal. They cannot pretend in not knowing the same. It would be tantamount to gross ignorance of the law for them not to know these landmark decisions. They know pretty well that there is still a period to appeal the said decisions and yet with haste they immediately implemented the same. Therefore, they deserve this censure." It also rebuked Gonzales for his "unwarranted interference" in the investigation of the graft case against Tupas, noting that "from the testimonies in the Senate hearing, the DOJ Secretary was shown to have an unwarranted interest in the case of Governor Tupas because he was even the one who announced on air from January 14 to 15 that the dismissal order against Governor Tupas was forthcoming." "What is even more revolting is the fact that although it is not his mandate to investigate anti-graft complaints, he assumed the investigation of these cases. And even more repulsive is his vigorous denial of his involvement," it added. Tupas and his two board members were ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman over complaints allegations that they reportedly spent P20,000 in public funds for a seminar-training of employees of local government units that never took place. -GMANews.TV