By Elvie Roman-Roa, Joey A. Gabieta
Inquirer Visayas
First Posted 05:01:00 11/20/2010
ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Philippines—The Army in Kananga, Leyte, had prior knowledge of the presence of botanist Leonardo Co and his team in the forested area of the town on Monday because they were informed of it beforehand by Energy Development Corp. (EDC).
This was disclosed by Richard Tantoco, president and chief operating officer of the Lopez-owned EDC, in a statement on Thursday. “What we know is that EDC informed the Philippine Army Command responsible for security in the area of Professor Co’s planned route and activities, and had received positive confirmation for them to proceed before they entered the area,” Tantoco said.
“What occurred subsequently remains unclear at the moment, but we will cooperate fully with the investigators tasked to find out precisely what happened,” he said.
Tantoco expressed shock over the killing of Co, EDC-Environmental Management Division forest guard Sofronio Cortez, and Tongonan Farmers' Association (Tofa) member Julius Borromeo, and said EDC was joining the bereaved families in prayers.
Co, a biodiversity consultant of EDC, and his companions died in a reported crossfire between troops of the Army's 19th Infantry Battalion (IB) and suspected communist rebels in Upper Mahiao, Barangay Lim-ao, Kananga, at noon on November 15.
The botanist worked with the Lopez Group in its biodiversity and forest conservation initiatives.
He was in Kananga to help EDC implement Binhi, a reforestation and biodiversity restoration program intended “to plant 10,000 hectares of endemic and endangered plant species over the next 10 years in the forests of Kananga,” according to the EDC statement.
Federico R. Lopez, EDC chair and chief executive officer, also expressed regret over the deaths of Co, Cortez and Borromeo.
“They will be painfully missed by us and the people they have sincerely touched as they went about their daily tasks,” Lopez said.
Cooperation promised
Tantoco said EDC would cooperate with the authorities in the investigation of “how such a tragedy like this could have happened.”
The Armed Forces, through its spokesperson Brigadier General Jose Mabanta Jr., also said it would cooperate in any congressional probe into the killing of the three men.
But Mabanta also said it had faith that the Philippine National Police and the parallel internal investigation by the Inspector General's Office of the Army's 8th Infantry Division (ID) would “uncover the truth.”
The 19th IB is under the operational control of the 8th ID, which in turn is under the AFP Central Command.
Militant lawmakers have proposed a House inquiry into the deaths of Co, Cortez and Borromeo, two of whose companions who survived said they had been mistaken for New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
“If desired by the authorities we will cooperate [in a congressional inquiry]. The important thing right now is we want the truth to prevail,” Mabanta on Friday told the Inquirer in Manila.
“The most important thing is to uncover the truth, and if it requires an investigation outside of the normal bodies, then we will abide [by it],” he said.
Mabanta said the military would make its personnel available for the proposed House inquiry.
“If our men have performed below par, we'll see to it that commensurate punishments are given. Whoever is at fault, we will make them answer for it,” he said.
Mabanta said the military also grieved for the deaths even as the commanding officers of the soldiers involved had been quick to clear their men.
“The sad part is we are saddened by the loss of lives ... We are certainly against it. The insurgency war has taken so much toll especially on noncombatants,” Mabanta said.
On the reported suggestion by the underground Communist Party of the Philippines that a “joint investigation” be conducted, Mabanta said the military would “study” it.
But he initially scoffed at the idea, saying: “How can they do that when they continue to hide?”
Local inquiry
The Kananga police had said they would conduct an impartial investigation of the killings.
Senior Inspector Joel Camacho, the Kananga police chief, earlier said he had invited Lieutenant Colonel Federico Tutaan, commanding officer of the 19th IB, and the soldiers involved in the purported encounter with the NPA to provide information.
Tutaan had said that he would welcome any investigation, and that his men were in the area as part of legitimate military operations.
The Kananga police have yet to release copies of the spot report on the incident and of the statement of Policarpio Balute, a Tofa member who had served as the second guide of Co’s team.
Balute and Roniño Gibe, a contractual forester with EDC's corporate responsibility department, survived the purported crossfire.
With a report from Dona Z. Pazzibugan in Manila
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