Nonetheless, De Lima said that “if warranted,” she could review the findings of the Department of Justice-National Bureau of Investigation (DoJ-NBI) panel that looked into the killing of Co, forest guard Sofronio Cortez and farmer Julius Borromeo on November 15, 2010.

“Anyone or any group is free to express disagreement or dissatisfaction with, or criticism of, the panel’s finding. To say, however, that there’s a ‘whitewash,’ as you quoted someone in your item today, is I must say unfair and unfounded,” De Lima said in a text message to the Inquirer.

She was referring to the statement made by Giovanni Tapang, chair of Agham-Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, which was published on Friday in the Inquirer.

Tapang, also a convenor of the Justice for Leonard Co Movement, had disputed the findings of the panel, saying it ignored the testimonies of the witnesses as well as the evidence.

Site inspection

But De Lima said: “The panel’s report finds support in the various documents, sworn statements and reports submitted to it, interviews with witnesses and, most importantly, the results of the on-site ocular inspection/reenactment of the incident. In the absence of contrary proof, the panel’s findings stand.

“I cannot certify though as to the irrefutability of the findings, let alone their conclusiveness. I’m open to a request for a review, if warranted.”

In its 26-page report, the panel said Co, Cortez and Borromeo were killed by bullets from communist rebels who were engaged in a skirmish with the military’s 19th Infantry Battalion in a forested area in Kananga, Leyte.

The panel also said it was Energy Development Corp. (EDC), of which Co was a consultant, that was liable for the three men’s deaths.

It recommended that EDC be charged with reckless imprudence for failing to secure Co and the others despite receiving information from the military that communist rebels were planning an attack on the facility.

CHR inquiry

De Lima said the release on Thursday of the DOJ-NBI findings was not meant to jump the gun on the public inquiry to be conducted by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) next week in Tacloban, Leyte.

“The DoJ-NBI panel in fact exceeded the one-month deadline given to it under my [department order],” she said.

De Lima issued the order creating the panel to investigate the deaths of Co and his companions last Nov. 22.

She had given the panel 30 days to complete its work but it asked for an extension of the deadline.

De Lima, who chaired the CHR before being appointed justice secretary, said on Thursday that the fact-finding panel would be available to testify at the commission’s hearing if summoned.

Trajectories

At Thursday’s press conference, panel member Romulo Asis, chief of the NBI death investigation division, said most of the trajectories of the bullets that had left marks on trees at the crime scene were downward, indicating the bullets came from higher ground.

But there were also marks showing upward trajectories, indicating firing from lower ground, he said.

Asis also said the original 10-meter police line from where Co and his companions’ bodies were found “did not include the place where the communist forces were supposed to be.”

The panel covered a 200-meter radius in its investigation, which, Asis said, led it to the rebels’ position.

Nikko Dizozn, Phil. Daily Inquirer