Commanders of a botched rescue of a hijacked Philippine tourist bus have been ordered on leave and weapons from the raid tested to determine responsibility for the deaths of eight hostages, police said today.
President Benigno Aquino said the Swat team's slow-motion attempts to storm the bus, broadcast live around the world by TV networks, had left him exasperated but defended his management of the crisis.
"There was an expectation that the appropriate forces would be utilised for this, who have been trained," Mr Aquino told reporters. "This thing shouldn't have happened."
The kidnapper, a disgruntled ex-policeman, was shot dead by police and eight of the hostages were also killed - either by the gunman or in the rescue - prompting anger in China and Hong Kong and demands for a thorough investigation.
The crisis is seen as an early test of Mr Aquino's leadership, which was questioned before his election win in May given a lacklustre political career, and his low profile during the crisis - Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang said he could not get his call returned on Monday - has drawn criticism.
Mr Aquino, who rang Mr Tsang yesterday, had said he had monitored the situation but was also dealing other issues. He also said he had been advised not to be seen reacting to the hostage-taker, and had thought it best to leave experts to handle the crisis.
"You had others who were grandstanding, others who became talking heads without the necessary knowledge, without even thinking through the impact of their statements, and I wanted to set an example to everybody," Mr Aquino said.
Yesterday was declared a day of mourning in the Philippines, and the survivors, relatives of the victims, and the victims' bodies were returning to Hong Kong on an evening flight.
Police said three of the dead were Canadian citizens. Hong Kong had said they were residents of the territory. Thousands of Hong Kong residents sought alternate nationality before the former British territory was returned to China's control in 1997.
All 200 members of the Swat team have been ordered to submit their weapons for ballistic testing, Philippine National Police spokesman Agrimero Cruz told a news briefing.
"We don't see any fault yet on the part of the Swat team leaders but they were ordered relieved administratively so they cannot influence the outcome of the investigation. That's a standard practice," Mr Cruz said.
Chief Superintendent Rodolofo Magtibay, the head of police in the area of the capital where the bloody siege took place, had taken responsibility and also offered to stand aside, the spokesman said.
On Tuesday, the national police said there had been "defects" including poor handling of the negotiations, and that the assault team was inadequately trained, equipped and led.
Reuters