- Office of Minority Leader Edcel C. Lagman
- 21 September 2010
- 0918-9120137 / 0916-6406737
‘SERIALIZED’ HOSTAGE REPORT
OFFENDS PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW
The serialization of the Incident Investigation Review Committee (IIRC) report on the hostage rescue fiasco violates the people’s right to know the full and unabridged report.
This abangan ang susunod na kabanata reportage, apparently upon the instructions of President Benigno Aquino III, deprives the Filipino people of the right to be informed without delay of the full report, particularly the more substantial portions on “Conclusions on Accountability” and “Recommendations” which have been omitted or deleted in the President’s official website.
Pages 61 to 83 on “Conclusions on Accountability”, “Recommendations”, “Highlights” and “Epilogue” were deliberately not posted.
This partial disclosure aggravates the President’s decision to first give the report to the Chinese authorities before even allowing the sovereign Filipino people a glimpse of the report.
Apparently, the Chinese government has already received the full report, albeit tentative, because it is still subject to the final review by Malacañang’s legal advisers.
The Filipino nation has the right to know immediately the “conclusions” and “recommendations” of the IIRC for its appreciation or depreciation simultaneous with the review being conducted by Aquino’s legal staff.
It would appear that if Aquino’s legal minds would reject or only recommend a partial adoption of the report, the people would only get to know a modified or deodorized sequel on the “conclusions on accountability” and “recommendations”.
This calibrated dissemination of the report offends the tenets of transparency and fairness as the substantial parts of the report are held hostage even as it trivializes the report of the President’s own investigation committee.