IPU delegate hurt in Pasay robbery

A member of the Belgian delegation attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) general assembly was hurt after unidentified men robbed him in Pasay City at dawn yesterday. George Brion, 50, deputy secretary general of Belgium’s unicameral parliament, sustained lacerations on his hands and forehead after two knife-wielding suspects robbed him of P4,000, $60 and credit cards after he left the Westin Philippine Plaza to look for a nearby Catholic church to attend early morning Mass.

SPO4 Antonio Canoy of the Pasay City police investigation unit, said Brion left the hotel at 5:45 a.m. without notifying the IPU desk. The Belgian wandered around the Cultural Center of Philippines complex and walked toward Vito Cruz before taking a tricycle at the vicinity of the Dragon Gate Seafood Restaurant along the Roxas Boulevard service road.

Brion asked the tricycle driver to take him to the San Rafael Church, but was instead taken to a side street, where the driver parked the vehicle and was met by an accomplice.

The two then forcibly took his wallet at knifepoint. Brion was hurt trying to grab their weapons.

After he was abandoned by the robbers, another tricycle driver saw him and took him to the San Juan de Dios Hospital, where he was treated and released at 9 a.m.

Representatives of the Philippine Senate arrived at the hospital and assisted the delegate back to his hotel. Brion missed the general assembly and other activities scheduled yesterday.

More than 11,000 policemen have been deployed in the area of the Philippine International Convention Center and hotels to secure the gathering of some 1,500 parliamentarians from almost 150 countries attending the IPU general assembly.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, Philippine representative to the IPU committee on peace and security, called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to immediately go after the perpetrators to avoid putting the country in an embarrassing situation.

"I expect the PNP to go solve this. It is important to resolve this before the end of the assembly," Biazon said.

Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on public order, challenged police to effect the immediate arrest of the robbers.

"With so many policemen deployed for the IPU, how could they have gotten away with this?" he asked. Police must be able solve this crime as soon as possible to show the IPU that we can arrest robbers."

Under srtrict orders from PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao, elements of the Pasay City police were directed to investigate and conduct a saturation drive in a bid to identify and arrest the suspects.

Isolated case

enior Superintendent Jonathan Miano, commander of the PNP Special Task Group at the PICC, described the incident as an "isolated case."

Miano appealed to other delegates to observe the security procedures during the length of their stay in the country.

"I advise the delegates to follow the procedures that we agreed upon, that is to advise the IPU secretariat where they are going to ensure the safety and security," Miano said.

Metro police chief Deputy Director General Avelino Razon said the Belgian can be partly blamed for the incident.

"He should have at least asked permission from organizers if he wanted to go out. This should not have happened," he said.

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad also went to the defense of the security forces.

"He (Brion) wandered around. I don’t want to blame him, but in fainess to the police, he failed to observe the precautions," the mayor said.

Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, chief of Task Force Parliament, said he does not intend to change the security arrangements despite the incident.

"There is no need to change anything. Nothing can be done to correct the wrong. What we can do is ensure nothing like that happens again," he said.

Velasco said he doesn’t want to blame anyone for the unfortunate incident, but said police "owe it to visitors to arrest the suspects."

The Belgian delegation attending the IPU has downplayed the incident, saying no harm was done.

Belgian Member of Parliament Geert Versnick accepted it as a normal occurrence anywhere in the world.

"This could happen in every city. This could happen in every conference. If you have about 1,500 congressmen and other people in the city, of course these kinds of incidents happen, but no real harm was done," Vernick said.

He did not fault Brion for failing to inform the front desk of the hotel he was staying before going out as he admitted that it would be very cumbersome on the part of the delegates to do this every time they need to go out.

Versnick said that Senate President Franklin Drilon has sent a message to their delegation to "express regret" over the incident.

"That was very courteous of him to say that he regretted this incident. He was so kind when he sent a message and apologized and expressed his regrets about this," he said.

He and other members of the Belgian delegation have also stated that the incident will not deter them from going around town and enjoying the sights.

There are eight Belgian parliamentarians, Mr. Brion and four staff members present during the 112th IPU General Assembly in Manila.

IPU President Sergio Paez was also briefed by PNP chief Lomibao about the incident and the measures they have been taking to secure the delegates.

Paez said that he was happy with the security measures in place and is satisfied with the security provided to the delegates. – With Christina Mendez, Marichu Villanueva, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Marvin Sy, Aurea Calica