Impartiality of NBI probe team questioned

The management of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Mactan, Cebu questioned yesterday the "impartiality" of the three-man panel which National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Reynaldo Wycoco sent to the province to investigate the mistaken shooting of six of its employees last Friday.

The NBI probe team is composed of Samuel Ong, deputy director for regional operations; Lauro Reyes, internal affairs chief; and Nestor Mantaring, deputy director for administrative services.

In a statement, Emmanuel Gonzalez, president and chief executive officer of Plantation Bay Holdings Corp., said that within hours after arriving in Cebu, the probe panel "destroyed its credibility" and in doing so, "insulted the intelligence" of Cebuanos.

According to Gonzalez, the panel immediately called a press conference, with Ong echoing the earlier claim of Romulo Manapsal, the NBI’s Central Visayas director who has since gone on leave, that the regional office no longer has any confidential agents, thus no such agents could have been involved in the mistaken shooting.

"Everyone in town knows that Manapsal tolerated the continuance of confidential agents," Gonzalez alleged.

The resort official had these questions: "Why is Ong trying to hide this fact from Gen. Wycoco? Did Ong know all along that Gen. Wycoco’s orders were being deliberately disobeyed? Did he (Ong) connive in the subordination? Since Ong is in charge of regional operations and Manapsal’s direct boss, how likely is it that Manapsal kept his (confidential agents) without Ong’s knowledge and support?"

The six Plantation Bay employees were on their way home from a birthday party in Mactan when supposed NBI confidential agents and assets tried to flag them down because they were on board a Mitsubishi L-300 van, which an arrested female drug suspect said her supplier was also riding in.

Since it was 2 a.m. and fearing that the armed men could be robbers, the group sped away. The NBI agents gave chase and fired at the van. The firing continued even as the vehicle stopped due to flat tires.