Four members of the police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team were relieved from their posts while Manila Police District chief Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay offered to go on leave of absence as an offshoot of the bloody hostage drama in front of the Quirino Grandstand last Monday.

Following what the police admitted to be a blunder in the handling of the bloody hostage-taking in Manila last Monday, the director of the Manila Police District who acted as ground commander offered a leave of absence while four team leaders of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) were sacked from their posts pending the result of the thorough investigation of the incident.

Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay offered to go on a temporary break before he gave the leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) about the chronology of events of the hostage drama in yesterday command conference at the Camp Crame in Quezon City.

“He offered to go on leave pending the result of the investigation, or as long as it takes. At the outset before he conducted his briefing, he offered immediately his intention,” said Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, Jr., PNP spokesman.

“He was citing personal reasons, he was reacting to news reports and other comments from the public,” added Cruz, when asked about the reasons cited by Magtibay in voluntarily relieving himself as MPD director.

While Magtibay offered to go on leave, Director Leocadio Santiago, National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) director, said he will not resign amid the hostage tragedy.

Santiago said yesterday that he would wait for the results of the ongoing probe on the bus hostage crisis, which ended with the death of eight Hong Kong tourists and their policeman-hostage-taker, before entertaining thoughts of quitting the service.

During the briefing, Cruz quoted Magtibay as saying that he assumed full responsibility of the outcome of the botched rescue operations.

“He said he gave the assault order and assumes full responsibility for it. He said the situation that was ongoing during that time warranted for a hasty assault,” said Cruz who was present during yesterday’s first meeting of the Post Crisis Investigation Management Committee (PCIMC) which is investigating the incident.

Cruz said Magtibay told the PCIMC officials led by Director General Jesus Verzosa, PNP chief, that he ordered the assault after the driver escaped and started shouting that all the remaining people on board are all dead.

The driver was handcuffed to the steering wheel but was able to unlock it using a nail cutter escape after a short lull from the shooting rampage conducted by Mendoza.

But Cruz was quick to clarify that Magtibay’s offer of leave absence has not hyet been approved by the PNP leadership, saying it has still to be deliberated and decided by the PNP top brass and the officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

What is certain, Cruz said, is the relief of Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual and three other SWAT team leaders that responded and carried out the assault on the tourist bus on Monday night.

“Four personnel of the MPD–SWAT were administratively relieved pending results of the investigation being conducted by the PCIMC,” said Cruz.

“All 200 members of the SWAT will also have to submit their firearms used during the assault for ballistics,” he added.

Cruz, however, said that the four MPD-SWAT officials involved and the rest of their men will not be restricted but were merely advised to make themselves available at all times at the course of the investigation that will be conducted.

Shot in the head
The autopsy conducted on six of the nine cadavers, including that of Mendoza, at the PNP Crime Laboratory revealed that all of them suffered bullet wounds in the head and the neck.

“Most of them (victims) died of gunshot wounds in the head and the neck, there is no report that some of the victims were killed using bladed weapons,” said Cruz.

Mendoza alone suffered eight bullet wounds, the most fatal is the one in the head and two in the neck which allegedly came from sniper fires.

Only the cadavers of the five foreigners, however, were subjected to autopsy since the relatives of the three of the fatalities refused to have the bodies examined thoroughly for “personal and religious” reasons.

Cruz, however, said the three cadavers were subjected to post-mortem examination, meaning they were only physically examined by police forensics experts.

3 foreigners are Canadians
Cruz revealed that they already confirmed that three of the slain foreign hostages are citizens of Canada, citing a report from the PNP Crime Laboratory.

“It was found out that they are citizens of Canada because of their passports,” said Cruz in an interview.

The official said that the three Canadians, two of them female, might have accompanied their relatives from Hong Kong for a travel to the Philippines.

But Cruz would not identify the three Canadians and even the five other Chinese citizens, saying they will leave it to the respective embassies of the two countries.

The only information he gave is that three of the slain Hongkong residents are male.

Ala-Rambo
The initial results of the investigation revealed that most of the shots fired came from the M16 rifle and .45 pistol then being carried by Mendoza, with reports indicating that the dismissed cop went on a shooting rampage.

A report from the Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) revealed that a total of 59 pieces of spent cartridges of M16 rifle was found inside the tourist bus, another six pieces of M16 shells found outside the bus.

Cruz said all the indications point to the 59 pieces of M16 shells as coming from the M16 rifle of Mendoza but said they are yet to wait for the result of the ballistics examination.

“But the initial investigation revealed that both the M16 and the .45 pistol were fired,” said Cruz.

Aside from the fired cartridges, Cruz said they also recovered 13 pieces of live ammunition for M16 inside a magazine, another 18 pieces of live ammunition for M16 loaded in another magazine.

Asked if all the victims were shot by Mendoza or was hit when the hostage-taker was being neutralized, Cruz said the result of the ballistics examination of the firearms of all the SWAT members who responded to the incident will reveal it.

He, however, said that there are indications that the eight bullet wounds suffered by Mendoza came from police snipers.

No resignation
The PNP leadership urged on Wednesday the people to wait for the official result of the investigation, instead of coming up with nasty criticisms and call for the resignation of some ranking police officials

“We should just wait for the result of the investigation, it is premature to say that heads will roll but definitely the investigation will be conducted in a transparent manner as possible,” said Cruz.

Cruz said the matter of resignation as called on by some personalities was not even discussed during the meeting yesterday at the Camp Crame.

The official said that Verzosa, for his part, is more focused on getting to the bottom of the incident in order to come up with measures to prevent its repeat in future operations.

“As a professional police officer, the Chief PNP is taking the criticisms in stride and giving instructions so that the investigation will go on smoothly,” said Cruz.

Robredo, Carandang, Coloma must go – Lagman
President Benigno Simeon S. Aquino III must sack Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo as well as Presidential Communication Development and Strategic Planning Group heads Ricardo Carandang and Hermino Coloma for their “palpable incompetence.”

House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said the government cannot afford to spare the heads of officials, who failed to control the hostage-taking crisis that ended bloody on Monday, souring international relationships with Hong Kong and China.

“If Robredo, Carandang, and Colomo do not resign voluntarily, President Aquino should fire them from the Cabinet for palpable incompetence and culpable indifference and for being unmindful of the adverse effects of the hostage taking crisis,” Lagman said. (With reports from Ellson A. Quismorio, Jean Fernando, and Rio Rose Ribaya)