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Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Immigration official, 7 others face raps
MANILA -- A Department of Justice (DOJ) panel has recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against immigration officials led by Associate Commissioner Teodoro Delarmente for allegedly aiding the escape of an international terrorist in 2005.
But the 23-page report of the five-man panel headed by Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda has not found incriminating evidence against Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez and Associate Commissioners Roy Almoro and Jose Cabochan.
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Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said Fernandez appears to have no knowledge about the incident as he was on leave when it took place.
However, he said other officials are not yet off the hook since the report submitted by the panel was just its initial findings and further investigation would still be conducted to determine their liabilities.
"It's possible that there is conspiracy, there could have been a confabulation. That's why we have to look deeper into this," he said.
In its 23-page memorandum submitted to Gonzalez, the panel said Delarmente and other low to middle-rank immigration officials may be held liable for violation of the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Revised Penal Code (RPC), grave misconduct, and neglect of duty.
Aside from Delarmente, criminal and administrative charges may also be pursued against lawyer Benjamin Kalaw, chief of the BI Law Investigation Division (LID); Dr. Elsie Lobrin, BI medical officer; Police Superintendent Wendy Rosario, former acting head of the BI Civil Security Unit; Police Inspector Noel Espinoza, former warden of BI detention center in Bicutan; Marcelino Francis Agana and Joselito Pagaduan, BI confidential agents; and Alma Gonzalez, a liaison officer from the Basa Law Office, the law firm that represented suspected Vietnamese-American terrorist Vo Van Duc.
During a press briefing, Gonzalez said he ordered the preventive suspension of the eight public officials pending the conduct of a preliminary investigation by a panel of prosecutors.
"This is just a fact-finding report. There will still be a preliminary investigation. Accusing them here does not mean we found them guilty, that is why there will be a preliminary investigation on the probable cause. Investigation is still continuing. After the investigation, if the panel thinks they are liable, then we will immediately suspend," said Gonzalez.
The investigation conducted by Pineda's panel, according to Gonzalez, merely established that there were infractions committed by the concerned officials. He said a preliminary investigation is necessary to determine the degree of offense committed by the respondents.
Based on the panel's investigation, Delarmente allowed Duc to leave his BI detention center several times to undergo medical examination at the San Juan De Dios Medical Center between April to May 2005 without valid and formal recommendations from Lobrin.
However, Lobrin, according to the panel, issued a handwritten note stating that she had "no objection" to the medical passes issued by Delarmente, without conducting a medical evaluation of the suspected terrorist.
Due to the issuance of the medical passes, Duc was allowed to leave his detention center escorted by Agana. But the panel noted that based on the hospital records, the suspected terrorist was at San Juan De Dios Hospital only on May 5 to 7, leaving May 4, and 8 to 14 unaccounted for.
Further inquiries revealed that after his visit to the hospital, Duc moved first to an apartelle along the Airport Road then to Cherry Blossoms Hotel in Manila.
According to the panel, Espinosa had knowledge of Duc and Agana's stay in the hotel as he admitted that he visited the two during their stay in Cherry Blossoms.
The panel also found out that Delarmente knew that Duc was not in the hospital but at the hotel.
After two weeks in the hotel, Duc, who is wanted for various bombing cases in Thailand and the US, managed to leave the country through the issuance of the necessary documents and the summary deportation order by the other concerned officials.
The panel further said based on the record, it was Pagaduan who escorted Duc to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). However, instead of properly turning him over to BI officials at the airport, Pagaduan accompanied the suspected terrorist up to the entrance gate of Naia and allowed Duc to enter the airport alone.
Duc was allegedly able to use a Philippine passport under the name of "Armando Luat" and took an Emirates flight bound for Africa on May 21, 2005 instead of going straight to the US. (ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (January 17, 2007 issue)
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