Senate to probe airport tower siege incident

Amid reports that former Air Transportation Office chief Panfilo Villaruel and his aide, Navy Lt. (sg) Ricardo Catchillar had tested negative for powder burns, the Senate will investigate Saturday’s takeover of the airport control tower.

Citing initial reports from the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory at Camp Crame, PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said both Villaruel and Catchillar tested negative for powder burns but ballistic tests on two handguns recovered near their bodies had been fired.

In explaining the findings, Ebdane said the absence of gunpower burns does not indicate at all that the two did not fire the handguns - a caliber .45 Remington automatic and a 9-mm. Jerico — but that the Crime Lab findings were not yet conclusive.

He maintained that the presence of slugs at the control tower — which matched with those fired from the two handguns — indicate that the guns were fired.

The PNP Crime Lab, however, has yet to release the results of the autopsies performed on Villaruel and Catchillar.

The Senate inquiry will cover "possible human rights violations" in the killing of Villaruel, who his family claims was peppered with bullets from high-caliber guns beyond recognition, and Catchillar.

The investigation was prompted by two resolutions separately filed by Senate President Franklin Drilon and Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III. — Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz