November 11, 2003

THE ARROYO GOVERNMENT STORY

Airport General Manager Edgardo Manda ordered the investigation shortly after a 10-man assault team of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (ASG) stormed the Manila Control Tower Saturday morning and gunned down former Air Transportation Office (ATO) chief Panfilo Villaruel Jr. and Navy lieutenant Ricardo Catchiller.

The investigation would be centered on how Villaruel and Catchiller managed to slip through what was supposed to be a fortified security facility. The two men were carrying two MK2 fragmentation grenades, two automatic pistols and other explosive devices.

Manda had earlier described the siege masterminded and carried out by Villanueva and Catchiller as "a serious breach in security," and vowed that those who are found negligent will be punished.

The incident occurred despite the constant high level of security alertness imposed on the country's major gateway due to local and global threats of attacks from terrorists.

Several air traffic controllers were invited to provide a blow-by-blow account of the events which allowed Villanueva and his aide to wrest control of the 12-storey tower.

The control tower observation deck houses cutting-edge radar equipment and air traffic controllers who provide information, notices and guidance essential to the pilot and flight operations.

Guards of Lockheed Security Agency, a privately owned company hired by ATO, were also summoned to provide a detailed report on how they screened persons entering the facility.

Reports said the Lockheed guards were given the sole task of securing the control tower and its immediate periphery which is surrounded by high steel walls.

The all-white, 12-storey Manila control tower which was built in 1994 is located in the front of the NAIA Centennial Terminal 2 and is surrounded by public parking spaces unlike the old decommissioned Manila Control Tower which conveniently stands beside the highly restricted runways and taxiways.

The investigation would also include newly appointed ATO chief Gen. (ret.) Nilo Jatico and Sr. Supt Andres Caro II, director of the PNP-Aviation Security Group.

Caro welcomed the investigation which will determine if his elite assault team followed the rules of engagement during the takeover.

Caro said they had no knowledge of Villaruel's attempt to surrender because the former ATO chief cut off communication with airport authorities. The steel door behind Villaruel was sealed and they had to blast their way into the cramped room.

"We were immediately fired upon as soon as we barged in the room so we returned fire," Caro said.

Justified: Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., PNP chief

The Philippine National Police (PNP) justified yesterday the reaction of the PNP Aviation Security Group (ASG) during the foiled takeover of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Centennial 2 control tower, stressing that their swift action against the two armed suspects saved the lives of thousands of inbound passengers as well as spared the government from another international embarrassment.

As this developed, PNP authorities recovered an abandoned Mitsubishi Galant with four pounds of TNT explosives in a gasoline station in West Service Road, Pasay City.

Police are investigating if the abandoned vehicle has a connection with the failed siege since it was recovered by authorities only a few kilometers away from the NAIA Centennial 2 Complex.

Aside from the TNT components, the PNP also recovered a time fuse, an access pass from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and a Philippine AXA Insurance ID card under the name of Ricardo Catchillar.

It was not immediately known if it was the same person as Navy Lt. Senior Grade Richard Cathillar, who was gunned down by responding PNP-ASG assault team, along with former Air Transport Organization (ATO) chief Panfilo Villaruel.

Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., PNP chief, nevertheless assured the cooperation of the ASG authorities for the conduct of investigation on the incident./

Ebdane directed the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to closely coordinate and assist the Department of Transportation and communication and Air Transportation Office in its investigation of the incident at the NAIA control tower.

"Undoubtedly, the incident itself was an act inimical to civil aviation as the lives of thousand of inbound passengers and airport personnel at the site were put at risk by the armed perpetrators," Ebdane said in a press statement.

Ebdane said the ASG;s reaction to the situation was a highly commendable judgment call by personnel on the ground. They did what they had to do under the situation, Ebdane said.

The defended the ASG's action amidst criticism that the killing of Villaruel and Catchillar was "an overkill."

A radio interview by anchorman Arnold Clavio of DZBB indicated that Villaruel was uttering the words "surrender" when he and his companions were shot by the ASG personnel.

During the interview, Villaruel complained about the alleged graft and corruption in the government and the inability of the country's leaders to unite the nation amid the worsening political turmoil.

The two sustained multiple bullet wounds after they were assaulted by special teams of ASG following a three hour illegal takeover of the airport control tower.

Police allege recovered from the two suspects a .45 caliber and 9mm pistols, a hand grenade and explosive devices when they were shot dead.

PNP officials said that the ASG applied a surgical operation to neutralize the threat using very minimal force and firepower to prevent damage to the airport equipment that could endanger the fate of inbound commercial aircrafts.

The CIDG is also gathering other pieces of information related to the incident, including the discovery Saturday night of an abandoned green Mitsubishi gallant car in Merville, Paranaque City loaded with approximately four pounds of TNT explosives with a time fuse, an AFP Vehicle Access Pass and Philippine AXA Insurance Id card under the name of Ricardo Cathillar.

Police authorities are expanding the coverage of the investigation to determine if there were other personalities involved in the failed control tower siege, particularly in the smuggling in of the firearms and explosives by the two suspects. (Highbeam)

Operatives defended

Malacanang defended yesterday police operatives against allegations that they have unfairly shot to death Ret. Air Force Gen. Panfilo Villaruel and his aide, Navy Lt. Ricardo Gatchillar, when the latter irregularly took over the air traffic control tower at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.

Describing the questionable police operation as "neutralization," Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team that pinned down Villaruel and Gatchillar were justified of their action, considering of the time, place and circumstances of the hostage situation.

"Nakikiramay tayo doon sa pamilya ng namatayan, but iyong pagka-assault at pagkakapaslang (We condone with the families of the victims, but the assault and slaying) are a necessary consequence of a police operation," he said.

Villaruel, a former chief of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) and his aide were gunned down despite their earlier plea aired over a radio network that they were surrendering to the SWAT team while inside the 12-storey control tower at around three in the morning.

Bunye, the President's official spokesperson, said it was a "natural reaction" for SWAT team members to neutralize immediately the two intruders because the latter were "armed and dangerous" and were endangering the lives of airline passengers.

"The situation was very sensitive and it was necessary that the hostage situation is finished at once. At times, it was really a natural reaction of SWAT team to neutralize the threat. And to our mind, the action of SWAT team was justified considering the time, the place and the circumstances," he said.

Besides, he continued, Villaruel's intrusion into the Centennial Terminal Control Tower disrupted aviation operations since the place of the crisis comprises the "heart and brain of the country's aviation industry."

"The airplanes could crash or collide with one another if there were no navigational directions," he said.

Bunye also admitted that Villaruel's complaint about the conditions in the country, notably against rampant graft and corruption in the government, may have "a grain of truth," but his action could not justify the irregular takeover of the sensitive installation of the aviation industry today.

According to him, there are other fora which Villaruel could have resorted to instead of taking control of the NAIA Terminal 2 tower that prompted police authorities to shot him to death despite his plea to surrender. (Highbeam)

Sen. Franklin Drilon

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today called for the resignation of Secretary Leandro Mendoza, saying the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Secretary should be held responsible for failing to secure the Naia-2 control tower that led to a tragic incident Saturday morning leaving two people dead.

Panfilo Villaruel, 62, former chief of the Air Transportation Office, and his aide who seized the airport control tower starting Friday night were shot dead early Saturday by a police assault team while he was crying surrender.

Villaruel, a Philippine Air Force reservist and assistant transportation secretary in 1992-96, was in the middle of a radio interview when he and Navy Lieutenant Ricardo Catchillar were killed at around 2:45 a.m. by an assault team of the Aviation Security Group.

"Secretary Mendoza is an embarrassment and he embarrassed our country in the eyes of the world. He and his subordinates in the DOTC have failed to secure the airport tower. This case involves a serious breach of security that such a vital facility like the airport tower can be penetrated by two individuals, acting on their own, and were able to stay there for more than 12 hours," Drilon said.

The Senate President deplored that the Aviation Security forces "acted only when it was too late," noting reports that the former ATO chief was shot dead repeatedly while trying to surrender.

Drilon noted that during the Oakwood mutiny in Makati, where over 300 military officers and men were involved, not a single life was lost when the conflict was resolved amicably. "Here we have only two individuals and they both had to be killed," Drilon lamented.

Drilon also disclosed that he was assured by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Narciso Abaya during a meeting Saturday night that the airport incident was an "isolated one" and was not part of a coordinated plot to overthrow the government.

"General Abaya has assured me that this was an isolated incident," Drilon said.

On seeking Mendoza's resignation, Drilon noted that because the DOTC chief was a former director general of the Philippine National Police (DOTC), he was expected to implement effective security measures on the country's important transportation and communication facilities.

"If he cannot secure such a vital facility like the Naia-2 tower, which controls incoming and outgoing flights to ensure the safety of airlines passengers, how can we expect Secretary Mendoza to perform the other significant responsibilities of a DOTC secretary?" Drilon said.

Motive

The tower killing incident the other day at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) should be probed exhaustively to determine if the motive of the killing of former Air Transport Office (ATO) chief Capt. Panfilo Villaruel and Navy Lt. Senior Grade Ricardo Gatchiller by a counter-terrorist team of the PNP-Aviation Security Group was to silence him in his allegations of government corruption.

Eddie C. Gil, chairman of the "Partido Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa," said the killing of Villaruel and Gatchiller may have violated the rules of engagement and the Articles of War if reports were true that Villaruel was already shouting they were surrendering, yet they were still fired upon by the counter-terrorist team members.

"This does not bode well for our Armed Forces of the Philippines which are mandated to observe human rights before doing drastic actions like what happended to Villaruel and Gatchiller," Gil said.

Gil said that "what makes the investigation all the more necessary is that the killing may have been triggered by a sinister motive to silence dissent on the part of patriotic Filipinos over abuses and excesses of government officials in the conduct of national affairs.

He said that based on TV reports, the late Capt. Villaruel was heard over radio and TV asking Filipinos to resist the pervasive corruption which, he claimed, has engulfed all rungs of the government.

"This could be a dangerous precedent that threatens our democratic ideals that must be resisted by every peace-loving and patriotic Filipino," Gil said. (Highbeam)