SHOULD Political Affairs Adviser Ronald Llamas be sanctioned or even resign over the furor created by the discovery of a high-powered firearm in his official vehicle that figured in an accident recently? 

I don’t think so.

Llamas has admitted owning, apart from the AK-47 assault rifle found in his vehicle, an M-16 and three handguns, all of them properly licensed and with the corresponding permits to carry outside residence from the Philippine National Police (PNP).  

Llamas acquired the firearms because of a credible threat to his security. He had requested the PNP for a security detail because of these threats, but this had been unacted upon at the time of the vehicular accident.

As political adviser, Llamas, according to the President himself, handles sensitive matters, including the build-up of graft cases against key personalities in the previous administration.

Thus, Llamas was well within his right to defend himself from any harm. 

The Cabinet official sacked the two members of his staff who went on what he said was a “joyride” that contravened government policy. He said like the “joyriders,” the two other staff members who went to the accident scene to secure the firearm, were also told to submit themselves to police investigation. Later, Llamas also turned over the AK-47 to the police as material evidence in the investigation of the case.

PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome has categorically stated that they are not contemplating on filing charges against the Cabinet official: “Secretary Llamas has not violated any laws, it is his two staff who are at present under investigation.” The top cop said Llamas has fully cooperated with the investigation of his former staff.

That view is shared by Sen. Koko Pimentel, who declared that Llamas has no criminal liability because he was out of the country at the time the licensed firearm was found in the vehicle, and that his aides were the ones liable for the unauthorized possession of a firearm registered in Llamas’s name.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has also come to Llamas’s defense, saying that since the political adviser faced death threats, he should be allowed to defend himself. Enrile said, in reaction to perception that the administration’s anti-“wang wang” policy had been replaced with a “bang-bang” mentality, that wang-wang was all about abuse of official authority and privilege by public officials, but bang-bang was about the right of an individual to protect himself from harm.

While at this, let’s put things in context.

Who’s been calling for Llamas’s resignation? There’s Negros Rep. Iggy Arroyo, the brother of former first gentleman Mike Arroyo who was been charged with selling secondhand choppers at brand-new prices. There’s also Rep. Mikey Arroyo, who has been charged by the Bureau of Internal Revenue with tax evasion involving millions of pesos. And then there’s Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, a staunch defender of the previous administration. But what’s the common denominator of the three politicians?  

According to the PNP, Rep. Iggy Arroyo himself owns 12 licensed firearms; Vic Magsaysay, father-in-law of Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, has 16 guns, while Rep. Mikey Arroyo has six, which is one more than Llamas’s declared total of five firearms.

In other words, there’s rank hypocrisy at work here. 

From where I sit, it certainly looks like some quarters are dead set on pinning down Llamas on the issue although it is clear he has no legal culpability, according to the police.

I’m not surprised if some people will try to distort the facts and blow the issue out of proportion because of a hidden political agenda.

I suspect that the media operation to destroy Llamas’s credibility is actually aimed at destroying the credibility of President Aquino himself. With Llamas discredited and out of the picture, it’s easy then to vilify the President and raise serious doubts in the public mind over his competence as Chief Executive.          

While the furor over Llamas’s firearms is much ado about nothing, it bears watching because it may be a portent of things to come for the Aquino administration, with political adversaries ready to pounce on any issue, real or imagined, for their own self-serving agenda.

Poll automation provider earns plaudits

Here’s a development that may be of great interest to the Commission on Elections when it makes a decision on automation of future elections.

Smartmatic, the multinational technology company that supplied the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and helped carry out the successful first automated elections in the Philippines in 2010, has been selected by the US Commerce Association as a recipient of the 2011 Best of Boca Raton Award in the Identity Management Systems category.

The Smartmatic Identity Management Solution offers a portfolio of products and services to support government institutions in the implementation of identification, biometric and authentication processes, such as national ID programs, civil registration, voter registration and authentication, border control, identity document issuance, registration for social benefit programs, among others.

“As part of our mission of creating and developing technologies able to improve efficiency and transparency worldwide, Smartmatic’s solutions are focused in offering not only the best cutting-edge technology but also the most comprehensive and reliable services, project management and industry know-how in all our areas of expertise, including identity management. We are honored to see that our efforts are being recognized in the US,” said Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic CEO.

Some of Smartmatic’s significant projects in identity management include the Bolivian National Electoral Court’s Biometric Electoral Register, Mexico’s Secretariat of Governance national registry and the United Nations Development Program joint project with the Electoral Commission of Zambia for digital mobile voter registration.

The respected Carter Center lauded the May 2010 elections in the Philippines, which it said was “marked by relatively high public confidence and trust on the use of the optical mark recognition technology.” 

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