By Catherine N. Pillas & Elijah Felice E. Rosales
MALACAÑANG said last Saturday President Duterte finds no compelling reason to place Metro Manila under martial law in the wake of a gunman attack in a casino-hotel in Pasay City.
In a text message to reporters, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella said what transpired in Resorts World Manila last Friday is nothing more but a criminal act. “All indications in the Resorts World Manila point to a criminal act by an apparently emotionally disturbed individual.”
Abella’s statement echoed police findings dismissing terror agenda in the attack, as the gunman, later identified to be Jessie J. Carlos, does not possess the making of a terrorist.
“The incident in the Resorts World Manila is, thus, an isolated case, which does not constitute rebellion or invasion, which are the grounds for the declaration of martial law, as prescribed by the Constitution and which the President is sworn to abide by and protect when he took his oath of office,” Abella said.
Security footages showed Carlos, armed with an assault rifle, stormed into the building, fired shots at televisions, torched gambling tables and slot machines and stole gambling chips worth P113 million, before he forcibly entered a hotel room, where he committed self-immolation and shot himself.
The Islamic State of Israel and Syria claimed responsibility for the attack, but the police concluded it was a failed robbery attempt. Metro Manila Police Chief Oscar D. Albayalde last Sunday said Carlos had a bank account with an outstanding debt of P4 million, along with other nonbank-related debts, which might have led him into committing the crime. “On this note, we also reiterate our prior statements that this is not an act of terrorism, but an incident confined to the act of one man alone, as we have always said,” Albayalde said.
Terror attack or not, Carlos was able to set ablaze enough gambling tables and slot machines to spread fire across the building, killing 38 people in the process due to suffocation.
Carlos was a former tax specialist for the Department of Finance and was sacked from service for failing to declare all his assets in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
In 2014 the Office of the Ombudsman ruled Carlos guilty of grave misconduct and neglect of duty for not disclosing his house and lot in Manila in his SALNs from 2003 to 2006, his Toyota Innova sports-utility vehicle (SUV) in his SALN in 2007 and his business interest in his SALN in 2010.
Due to this, Carlos’s civil-service eligibility was canceled, his retirement benefits forfeited and was perpetually disqualified from rejoining the government, pursuant to the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.
His attack at Resorts World Manila took place a week after Duterte declared martial law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao, as soldiers and Maute Group terrorists clash in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) agreed with the President saying, the incident in Resorts World Manila does not present “just cause” for imposing martial law in Metro Manila.
PCCI Presaident George T. Barcelon said that, while he supports the increased visibility of the police following the incident, it does not warrant the extension of martial law to Luzon or Metro Manila.
“I don’t think [the move] will be justified. It was one man, and an isolated incident. I trust the intelligence being gathered by the government and the police should be enough to deter or prevent more incidents,” Barcelon said.
Perry Pe, chairman of the MAP’s national issues committee, said the incident does not meet the requirements of the 1987 Constitution, unlike the terrorist attack in Marawi City.
The 1987 Constitution provided that the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in times of rebellion or invasion.
Peter Perfecto, executive director of the Makati Business Club, said the government and the private sector should be more prepared. “The government, private sector and media must be more prepared so that we can save more lives and assure visitors and investors that these things will never happen again,” Perfecto added.
1 comment
Yes! The jews are behind ISIS!!!