ILOILO CITY - Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas Sr. yesterday called for the resignation of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez., Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Western Visayas police director Chief Supt. Wilfredo Dulay Sr.

The call was made by Tupas in his annual state of the province address.

Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez, chair of the Regional Development Council, meanwhile, said in a press conference that local officials should unite and fight the "Puno massacre," referring to the DILG Secretary.

Senator Franklin Drilon had issued a similar call for the resignations of Gonzalez, Puno and Dulay before the Senate Tuesday.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday said the call for resignations by Drilon may have links to politics, and he did not want to be part of it.

However, he said if the President wants to fulfill her call for reconciliation and unity, she has to do something about the case of Tupas.

Meanwhile, the press conference of Perez was joined by Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava and representatives of governors Vicente Bermejo (Capiz), Marañon (Negros Occidental) and Carlito Marquez (Aklan) who later attended the annual SOPA of Tupas.

Negros Occidental board member Francis Tuvilla, who represented Marañon, said the incident showed the "height of political arrogance" and a taste of Martial Law.

Perez said they will "fight back if the DILG runs after us like what they did to Governor Tupas."

Board members in the provinces of the region are coming out with separate resolutions, Tuvilla said. In an emotional speech, Tupas called on the officials whom he blames for the incident, to leave their posts.

"Your immediate resignation is the most honorable thing to do," Tupas said.

Earlier in the press conference, Tupas said that his lawyers are preparing criminal and administrative charges against those responsible for the attack.

Gonzalez has repeatedly denied that he was behind Tupas' dismissal and the armed assault. He has also justified the operation and defended the policemen involved in the operation. The Commission on Human Rights has vowed to conduct a speedy and independent investigation on last week's armed assault on the Iloilo provincial capitol.

CHR Officer-In-Chare Eligio Mallari said in a press conference here that their investigators are gathering evidence, including testimonies of witnesses, to determine whether members of the assault force had committed human rights violations.

Mallari said that, based on video footages and photographs of the incident, the assault was "shocking."

But he said they will not limit their investigation to these footages and have asked for investigation reports from the PNP, DILG and the Commission on Elections.

"We are not taking sides. We will analyze and submit recommendations based on the evidence on hand," Mallari said.

He also said they have not set a deadline on when the investigation will be completed. He said their investigation is being hampered by the delay in the submission of reports from the PNP, DILG and Comelec.

Conducting the investigation is a team from the CHR regional office composed of two lawyers and five investigators.*NPB

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