Palace exec: No cover-up on aides blunder

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential Political Adviser Ronald Llamas reiterated today that there was no attempt to cover-up the incident where two of his aides were caught using his vehicle without authorization with two firearms on board.

He said he has sacked the two – Joey Valderama Tecson and John Brilliant Alarcon – who were involved in the incident, while mulling of filing administrative charges against them.

"I would like to emphasize and reiterate that there has been no attempt by anyone to withhold information about the incident, either from the police, media, or the public, or to allow those found responsible to escape culpability for their actions. Neither I, nor my office, will ask for or countenance special treatment in this regard," he said.

Security threat

Llamas, who just arrived from Switzerland, said the firearms were officially registered to him “in the wake of information that there were credible threats” to his safety that started sometime in April and May this year.

“We got reports from our neighbors that there were several vehicles suspiciously parked near my house in Quezon City for several days,” he said. 

Llamas added he was more alarmed when he was able to identify one of the suspicious vehicles around his house when he fetched one of his children from school. 

"Sometime in May, yung sinundo ko yung aking anak sa UST, we saw yung nilarawan na vehicle following us, black Honda Civic, kaya ni reiterate namin yung paghingi ng tulong," he said.

He said this prompted him to ask for help from the police, which posted several patrol cars near his residence.

Being a former political party head and now political affairs adviser, Llamas said he has earned the ire of several groups and individuals regarding "sensitive issues."

"I have involved my office in several sensitive issues which polarized many sectors, halimbawa yung postponement ng ARMM election, mga investigation of corruption, especially from previous government. Kaya maraming mga issues na pwedeng merong kaming natatapakan," he said. 

In a press conference at the Palace today, Llamas cited that he secured the firearms after spotting several suspicious vehicles that were parked near his house for several days.

“I gave specific instructions before departing for abroad that the firearm be unloaded from the vehicle and safely secured, but, apparently, the two staff members neglected to comply with these instructions,” he pointed out..

“Ginamit ang sasakyan nang walang pahintulot at nabangga. Sinabihan ko naman na ibaba ang mga baril,” he reiterated, while pointing that the apprehended AK47 and M16 were duly registered.

The incident stemmed when Llamas’ vehicle, used by Tecson and Alarcon, rammed into a truck Friday morning along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Llamas however was not in the country when the incident happened as he has already left to Switzerland to attend an Executive Committee meeting of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

He however pointed out that the two “occasionally serve as my close-in aides, driving my vehicle and accompanying me.”

Few hours before the incident, the two have checked his house to ensure that it was secure, according to the Palace official.

“Unfortunately, after doing so, it appears that they then proceeded to use the vehicle for their own personal purposes, without authorization and against explicit office policies,” he added.

Police however have "provisionally" released Tecson from custody.