Joint House panel on Resorts World incident releases probe findings
Published Jan 19, 2019 08:54 am
By Ben Rosario
The joint congressional panel that investigated the attack at Resorts World Manila that resulted in the death of 38 hotel guests and employees blamed the hotel-casino’s management for negligence and lack of security consciousness.
Smoke rises from the Resorts World Manila complex early Friday, June 2, 2017 in suburban Pasay city southeast of Manila, Philippines. Friday, June 2, 2017. (FILE / AP / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a joint committee report submitted to the House plenary early this week, the three committees also pointed to lapses in the emergency responses of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The legislative inquiry was jointly conducted immediately after the June 2, 2017 incident by the House Committees on Public Order and Safety, on Games and Amusement and on Tourism chaired by Reps. Romeo Acop (NP, Antipolo City); Gus Tambunting (PDP-Laban ,Paranaque City) and Corazon Nunez-Malanyaon (PDP-Laban, Davao Oriental), respectively.
The three committees chided the Philippine Gaming Corporation for being “remiss” in failing to immediately issue a Cease and Desist Order to the RWM to suspend operations pending an investigation on the incident.
Instead, PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo pointed out that the state-owned gaming firm relied on RWM’s decision to voluntarily stop operations.
“This shows the unprofessionalism of the board,” said the report.
A squabble between the BFP and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority over the enforcement of regulations relating to fire prevention and protection was also put to blame.
PEZA had insisted that it has the authority to enforce national laws and regulations on fire protection and prevention in areas under its jurisdiction, thus, the BFP was denied the opportunity to conduct inspection of firefighting equipment and safety measures of certain business establishments like the RWM.
“There is an unfortunate appreciation of the roles of the BFP and the PEZA on the issue of ensuring fire safety that regrettably may have exacerbated the inability of the fire fighting personnel to alleviate the extent of damage and the number of casualties caused by the fire,” the House panels explained.
A total of 38 persons were killed, mostly caused by suffocation, when former government employee Jessie Javier Carlos, armed with a short-barreled M16 assault rifle and carrying bottles of gasoline, stormed the RWM on June 2, 2017. He started shooting at will but without intending to harm any guests and RWM employees.
The rampage of Carlos, who had been banned from casinos as part of PAGCOR’s regulation against profligate gamblers, caused the fire that resulted in the death of 37 persons, including Elizabeth Gonzales, wife of Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales.
Carlos was wounded in the firefight with responding policemen. He set himself on fire and committed suicide.
The House joint panel noted that the RWM committed various lapses, including on the deployment of security personnel, the hiring of Armeen Gomez as the hotel’s head for safety, security and surveillance, and its failure to heed PAGCOR’s recommendation for the hiring of additional security personnel due to the martial law situation in Mindanao.
Gomez, it was revealed, had misrepresented himself as a security expert, the House findings indicated.
The PNP, on the other hand, also had lapses in apprehending the assailant and properly coordinating security response to the incident.
According to the joint congressional panel the BFP did not have “appropriate or sufficient equipment” to address the fire. Its personnel were also not familiar with the layout o f the premises because it failed to inspect the RWM.
As part of its recommendations, the committees called for a review of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Regulation Act, Private Security Agency Law and the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 to plug loopholes that were discovered during the House probe into the incident.
Swift approval of House bill 6093 or the Tourism Resiliency Certification Program under the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority was also endorsed. The bill contains provisions that would strengthen tourism risk assessment framework for terrorism, natural disasters and fire.
Lawmakers said mandatory training and periodic retraining of security managers of high risk establishments is recommended.
“The formulation and immediate adoption of a joint protocol by the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection to be observed during multiple crisis incidents occurring simultaneously within a single location is also recommended,” the joint panel added. (Ben R. Rosario)
Smoke rises from the Resorts World Manila complex early Friday, June 2, 2017 in suburban Pasay city southeast of Manila, Philippines. Friday, June 2, 2017. (FILE / AP / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a joint committee report submitted to the House plenary early this week, the three committees also pointed to lapses in the emergency responses of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The legislative inquiry was jointly conducted immediately after the June 2, 2017 incident by the House Committees on Public Order and Safety, on Games and Amusement and on Tourism chaired by Reps. Romeo Acop (NP, Antipolo City); Gus Tambunting (PDP-Laban ,Paranaque City) and Corazon Nunez-Malanyaon (PDP-Laban, Davao Oriental), respectively.
The three committees chided the Philippine Gaming Corporation for being “remiss” in failing to immediately issue a Cease and Desist Order to the RWM to suspend operations pending an investigation on the incident.
Instead, PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo pointed out that the state-owned gaming firm relied on RWM’s decision to voluntarily stop operations.
“This shows the unprofessionalism of the board,” said the report.
A squabble between the BFP and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority over the enforcement of regulations relating to fire prevention and protection was also put to blame.
PEZA had insisted that it has the authority to enforce national laws and regulations on fire protection and prevention in areas under its jurisdiction, thus, the BFP was denied the opportunity to conduct inspection of firefighting equipment and safety measures of certain business establishments like the RWM.
“There is an unfortunate appreciation of the roles of the BFP and the PEZA on the issue of ensuring fire safety that regrettably may have exacerbated the inability of the fire fighting personnel to alleviate the extent of damage and the number of casualties caused by the fire,” the House panels explained.
A total of 38 persons were killed, mostly caused by suffocation, when former government employee Jessie Javier Carlos, armed with a short-barreled M16 assault rifle and carrying bottles of gasoline, stormed the RWM on June 2, 2017. He started shooting at will but without intending to harm any guests and RWM employees.
The rampage of Carlos, who had been banned from casinos as part of PAGCOR’s regulation against profligate gamblers, caused the fire that resulted in the death of 37 persons, including Elizabeth Gonzales, wife of Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales.
Carlos was wounded in the firefight with responding policemen. He set himself on fire and committed suicide.
The House joint panel noted that the RWM committed various lapses, including on the deployment of security personnel, the hiring of Armeen Gomez as the hotel’s head for safety, security and surveillance, and its failure to heed PAGCOR’s recommendation for the hiring of additional security personnel due to the martial law situation in Mindanao.
Gomez, it was revealed, had misrepresented himself as a security expert, the House findings indicated.
The PNP, on the other hand, also had lapses in apprehending the assailant and properly coordinating security response to the incident.
According to the joint congressional panel the BFP did not have “appropriate or sufficient equipment” to address the fire. Its personnel were also not familiar with the layout o f the premises because it failed to inspect the RWM.
As part of its recommendations, the committees called for a review of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Regulation Act, Private Security Agency Law and the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 to plug loopholes that were discovered during the House probe into the incident.
Swift approval of House bill 6093 or the Tourism Resiliency Certification Program under the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority was also endorsed. The bill contains provisions that would strengthen tourism risk assessment framework for terrorism, natural disasters and fire.
Lawmakers said mandatory training and periodic retraining of security managers of high risk establishments is recommended.
“The formulation and immediate adoption of a joint protocol by the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection to be observed during multiple crisis incidents occurring simultaneously within a single location is also recommended,” the joint panel added. (Ben R. Rosario)