A joint committee headed by secretaries of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Department of Interior Local Government (DILG) was formally constituted to investigate and eventually recommend formal criminal and administrative charges in connection with the August 23 bloody hostage-taking that killed eight tourists mostly from Hong Kong.

In Joint Department Order No. 01-2010, the committee will be chaired by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima with Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo as vice-chairman.

A representative each from the Filipino-Chinese community, Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), and Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) will also join the committee.

De Lima said at the earliest, the committee will start its grind this coming Friday.

“It will depend on the result of the separate probe being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

According to the department order, the committee will be given 15 days from its constitution to conclude its detailed investigation of the hostage-taking itself, and another 60 days to conclude its institutional and procedural review like a review on the standards and procedures of the PNP in hostage-taking and other similar incidents.

“The DoJ and DILG, in compliance of the directive of the President, create this body to investigate the hostage-taking incident, evaluate the procedures employed by the responding agencies, and submit a report with appropriate recommendations to the President," the order read.

One of the functions of the committee is to recommend the filing of appropriate criminal, civil, or administrative actions against any person who may have found to have acted culpably in the course of the incident.