Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. yesterday advised government officials to let Justice Secretary Leila De Lima “do the talking” surrounding the details of the investigation into the August 23 hostage-taking at the Luneta Grandstand so as not to preempt the probe and avoid the release of unofficial statements.
Last week President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III tasked De Lima to lead
the Joint Incident Investigation and Review Committee (JIIRC) to look
into the incident and draw up recommendations that will include the
imposition of civil, administrative and criminal liabilities.
“May I remind our civilian and police authorities that Secretary De Lima
has been mandated by President Aquino to lead the probe, and as head of
the investigation committee she is in the best position to release
information or issue statements related to the hostage drama while the
investigation is ongoing,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa added that having one voice on the issue would prevent the kind of
speculation that has not helped Filipinos or Chinese nationals gain a
better understanding of what transpired during the hostage-taking
incident last week.
“Considering the sensitivity of the matter, we encourage those who may
be possibly called by the investigating committee to let the Justice
Secretary speak on behalf of the government because we do not want
pronouncements from other personalities to preempt the committee’s
findings,” the Executive Secretary said.
De Lima was designated the spokesperson of the investigating committee
after the JIIRC was convened. This was followed by a similar
pronouncement by Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda who said that
“the Justice Secretary will be issuing the briefings and all the details
of the investigation process.”
“Let’s help the joint committee carry out its presidential mandate
unhampered as we search for the truth and try to put closure to this
incident,” Ochoa added.
