‘Misencounter’ between cops, RW guards caught on CCTV

MANILA, Philippines -  Policemen responding to reports of shooting at Resorts World Manila (RWM) after midnight of June 1 had a “misencounter” with the hotel’s security personnel who were then also looking for the gunman, a CCTV recording of the incident showed.

Footage of the brief shootout was shown last Wednesday at the resumption of the investigation into the RWM incident by the House committees on games and amusement of Rep. Gus Tambunting and on public safety chaired by Rep. Romeo Acop.

Armed with an automatic weapon, disgruntled casino addict Jessie Javier Carlos barged into the casino hotel early on June 2, shooting indiscriminately and torching casino tables and equipment before killing himself. At least 37 hotel guests and employees died of smoke inhalation.

CCTV footage showed the policemen and a man in civilian clothes briefly trading shots along a corridor.

The policemen could be seen in the video walking along a corridor toward a fire exit or stairwell where hotel security personnel were positioned.

One of the security men, later identified as Bernard Cajigas, hotel security team  head, fired at the policemen despite the latter’s having identified themselves.

Supt. Limuel Obon told the House committees they were in complete black uniform, with helmet and carrying police shield, when they chanced upon hotel security.

“They challenged that gunman there, ‘tropa, tropa,’ because Mr. Cajigas was in civilian (clothes),” Obon narrated.

Obon is from the Regional Public Safety Battalion of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

“Although he had two officers with him, they were away, and in their (police) line of sight, it was this man with a gun, in slippers, that came to their line of sight,” Obon said, referring to Cajigas.

“They challenged him, ‘Tropa?’ He was the one who first fired at them, and they fired at him,” he said.  Cajigas was hit but his injury was not fatal.

Chief Insp. Freddie Webb Mercado, leader of the police team, said Cajigas “suddenly appeared alone,” with two officers nearby.

“We said ‘tropa, tropa’ to make sure there would be no crossfire. But he did not reply so there was a misencounter, and then he ran off,” Mercado said.

“There was one holding a ballistic shield, that’s the one who protected the other personnel,” he said. “Without the ballistic shield, baka tinamaan din iyung tao natin (he could have hit one of our men).”

Cajigas had claimed he sustained a gunshot wound after shooting it out with Carlos and not with the policemen.

No CCTV failure

RWM’s chief operating officer Stephen Reilly insisted twice during Wednesday’s hearing that at no time did the hotel-casino’s CCTV network fail in recording what was going on.

He said his establishment has CCTV recording of the entire incident.

Reilly was disputing statements of Philippine National Police (PNP) NCRPO chief Director Oscar Albayalde that when responding policemen reached the second floor CCTV room at 1:44 in the morning, they found no hotel employee inside.

“We had to call for them and they showed up, including a ranking security officer, Jun Quinol. But after looking at the monitors, they did not know where exactly the gunman was located,” Albayalde said.

Reilly showed the committees a photocopy of a photograph showing Quinol with policemen.

“He was there. He was knowledgeable about the entire Resorts World complex. He could point to where the gunman was,” he said.

“Yes, Quinol was there, I admit, but that was after we called for the hotel’s CCTV personnel and security officers,” Albayalde responded.

Quinol was the one seen on video footage running away when Carlos emerged from a basement door. Armed with a rifle he borrowed from security guards of Lanting security agency, he exchanged fire with the gunman.

Albayalde said it was only at about 3 a.m., when PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa arrived, that they were led to a backup CCTV room at nearby Remington Hotel, which is part of the Resorts World complex.

“That’s when CCTV personnel told us that the gunman went up to the fifth floor. But before that, no CCTV operator could tell us where he was,” he said.

A CCTV operator testified that they abandoned the main CCTV room at the hotel-casino’s second floor, where Carlos was burning and firing at gaming tables and slot machines, at 12:18 a.m.

Video footage played on Wednesday by RWM officials showed scores of casino players and hotel employees scampering to safety. 

The 37 fatalities were last seen on CCTV at 12:33 a.m., before thick fumes enveloped the pantry and the gaming area and disabled CCTV cameras.

Fire officials told congressmen that fumes could kill a person in five minutes.

Hotel president Kingson Sian said that at the height of Carlos’ rampage, his personnel did not monitor the 37 trapped in the pantry “live” on their cameras.

He said they did not know about the 37, and discovered that they ran to the pantry only when they reviewed CCTV footage after the incident.

Dela Rosa testified that the first question he asked hotel officers when he arrived was if there were guests and employees trapped.

“I was told there were none. The next thing I asked was where were their CCTV monitors. That was when we were led to the Reminton Hotel CCTV room,” he said.

The 37 dead were found in the second floor hallway and pantry between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. of June 2.

Pagcor scoffs at House plan

Meanwhile, state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) voiced its opposition to plans of congressmen to take over the licensing of casinos in the country.

“We believe that casino licensing should remain with Pagcor. We have the expertise to do it. But if lawmakers take it back, we cannot do anything about it. We have to follow the law,” Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo said in a television interview.

She was asked to comment on the recent statement of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez that the House of Representatives would soon assume the power to issue franchises and licenses to casinos, mining companies, lottery outlet operators and even bus firms.

“That’s a power delegated by Congress, which we can take back,” the Speaker earlier said.

Domingo said it was the late president Ferdinand Marcos who created Pagcor through a presidential decree to regulate gambling and weed out illegal numbers games.

She said Congress amended the Pagcor law in 2012 but saw it fit to allow the gaming agency to continue exercising its licensing function.

“Not only that, Congress declared that Pagcor can be a regulator and a casino operator at the same time,” she said.

She added that her agency now runs 44 casinos throughout the country.

Domingo claimed that Pagcor casinos do not compete with big gaming establishments like Solaire, City of Dreams, Okada Manila and Resorts World, whose license the gaming agency has suspended.

“Those big resort-hotel-casinos have a market of their own. It’s the A niche. We cater to the middle market, while STL (small town lottery) is for the low-income market,” she said.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is the agency that issues franchises for STL operations.

STL is among the gaming activities whose licensing Alvarez wants the House to take over.

Under the Constitution, congressional franchises emanate from the House of Representatives. However, any bill that seeks congressional takeover of casino, lotto, bus and mining franchising would need Senate approval and the signature of the President.

Some colleagues of Alvarez have expressed doubts on whether senators would support his plan.