On Atimonan (Quezon) shootout: Honasan to seek for Senate inquiry

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan said a Senate inquiry on the controversial gunbattle in Atimonan, Quezon that left 13 people dead, will be conducted soon, citing the many loopholes on the incident.

Honasan, who was in this city the other day for a briefing and dialogue initiated by the Philippine Information Agency, said that for now, however, “the decision of the committee is wait for the official report because there are so many speculations and there are lives and reputations at stake here.”

The senator said it is definite that the Senate “will call them (those involved) to ask for the rules of engagement. How do they conduct the checkpoint; uniformed, authorized, may mission order ba, the usual. But until an official report is out, we will refrain from any initiative to conduct a Senate inquiry,” he said.

There would surely be an inquiry to find out, in aid of legislation, to ascertain if the law is defective. “We would want to find out if there is a problem in implementation or our policemen simply just don’t know how to conduct a checkpoint,” he said.

Honasan said there is a basis for an investigation because there are many things to explain and there are many gaps to fill.

“So, we will match the official report as what we perceived as the situation but we need an official report as the basis. And this is what the president wants also,” he said.

During his visit in Iloilo, the re-electionist senator is steering for the Freedom of Information Act which he now refers to as the POGI Bill – People’s Ownership of Government Information Act, the National Mapping and Resource Authority Law and the Land Use Act.

“After that, naka-quota na ako,” Honasan added. (FREEMAN)