DPWH relaxes security 5 months after exec's slay

MANILA, Philippines - How tight is the security at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)?

Just five months after Undersecretary for Luzon Ramon Aquino was ambushed outside the DPWH main building along Port Area, Manila, some have observed that security personnel have reportedly become lax in performing their duties.

Immediately after the shooting, the DPWH closed the two gates behind the main building and at the quadrangle. They would be open from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. during weekdays, and only for DPWH employees. Outsiders are told to use the main gate along Bonifacio Drive.

The back of the building also serves as a parking area for the vehicles of Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., his staff, and service chiefs.

The guards manning the back entrance said there were surveillance cameras monitoring the gates and they would be reprimanded if they were seen allowing outsiders to exit using the back gates.

At about noon yesterday, the guards were seen opening the gates for a tall, thin man wearing a striped polo shirt and dark pants. The man boarded a vehicle parked just outside the gate.

The STAR learned the man was reportedly not a DPWH employee and the guards had violated the rule on the hours the gate should be opened.

Aquino, 54, was shot by unidentified armed men last March 11 as his vehicle was leaving the DPWH compound by the main gate. While there were security guards manning the gate at the time, witnesses said they did not assist in helping Aquino’s driver get out of the compound.

The gunmen were waiting near the stoplight, which was only a few meters away from the DPWH’s main gate.