House committees end probe on Resorts World attack

June 22, 2017

The House committees on public order and safety, games and amusements, and tourism, ended Wednesday their joint inquiry into the June 2 Resorts World Manila (RWM) tragedy that resulted in the death of 37 guests and employees. In his closing remarks, Rep. Gus Tambunting of Paranaque made four observations which were based on disclosures and discussions made during the hearings, a statement from the House of Representatives said Thursday. First, that the tragedy was caused by the actions of one man who did not appear to have any plan beyond attempting a direct access to the casino, according to Tambunting. “Obviously, since the assailant was able to gain access into the casino with minimum effort and with no challenge posed by RWM security personnel, this speaks a lot about the quality of the security preparedness of RWM. Normally we would not like to delve with speculations, but what if this was an actual terrorist attack which was well planned and aimed at exacting maximum casualties and damage? Obviously things could have been much worse,” said Tambunting. Second, the lack of clear protocols for coordination between RWM and the first responders, and even among the first responders themselves (Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection), which was one of the proximate causes of the death by smoke inhalation/ asphyxiation of the 37 fatalities in the incident. “As stated by PAGCOR ( Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) chairperson Andrea Domingo in her report submitted to the committees, the continuous setting-off of ammunition which the assailant threw on the burning game table may have caused the victims/fatalities to panic.” “But for an establishment fully covered by CCTV cameras, the failure of the CCTV operators to track the whereabouts of the victims and to coordinate with the first responders to have them extracted from their whereabouts—which according to the PNP could have been accessed via a nearby fire exit—may be considered criminal negligence,” said Tambunting. Third, the CCTV footage provided to the lawmakers and the testimonies of the many resource persons who testified proved the lack of coordination between RWM and the first responders resulted in significant delays in taking positive action to deal with the threats and the situation at the time. “An incursion by a single individual such as this should have been resolved in a matter of minutes. That positive action of our first responders, the location of the trapped casino patrons and employees, and even the location and effective neutralization of the assailant, took hours was a significant factor in the high death toll from this unfortunate event. This cannot be countenanced,” said Tambunting. Fourth, questions of jurisdiction arose because there appeared to have been conflicting understanding of existing laws. “If what is needed is the passage of new laws, then let's do it. However, it may be more proper to see first where we are so we can act with purpose and clarity. The quality of the laws we come up with, outweigh their quantity. We have to be more circumspect about how laws we pass affect the overall picture,” said Tambunting. Tambunting said casinos, other business establishments, PAGCOR, the PNP, the BFP and the rest of the government – must all work to make sure that the tragedy does not happen. “More than that, we must make sure that the gaming industry is ready to meet the challenges of keeping the gaming public safe and secure during these trying times,” said Tambunting. DMS