Axed DoF employee linked to Resorts World attack
THE POLICE on Sunday identified a “heavily indebted” dismissed Department of Finance (DoF) tax specialist who was “hooked” in gambling as the lone gunman behind the deadly attack in an upscale hotel casino in Manila last week.
Hours before the police revealed the identity of the assailant, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto C. Abella told state-run DZRB radio yesterday morning that axed DoF employee Jessie Javier Carlos, 43, was the gunman behind Friday’s Resorts World Manila attack.
The identification of Mr. Carlos also puts to rest claims by the Islamic State (IS) that the terrorist group was behind the deadly assault last week, Metro Manila police director Oscar D. Albayalde told reporters yesterday noon.
Thirty-seven (37) people died due to suffocation in the gaming area of the Resorts World Manila on Friday midnight while 54 others sustained injuries after the attacker carrying a “baby armalite” stormed the establishment and set ablaze gaming tables and carpets before committing suicide.
Police said the “apparently mentally disturbed” attacker, who engaged hotel security men and cops in a gunfight, locked himself in Room 510 where he wrapped himself in a blanket wet with petrol and set himself on fire before shooting his head.
Authorities promptly dismissed reports the IS had claimed responsibility for the attack and insisted that robbery seemed a more likely motive of the then still-unidentified gunman, who tried to run away with P113 million worth of casino chips.
‘ADDICTED TO GAMBLING’
Citing the assailant’s wife, Mr. Abella said Mr. Carlos, a resident in Sta. Cruz, Manila, was “addicted to gambling.”
“So we just like to say that we like to put the worries of the general public to rest,” the spokesperson said, adding that the attack was a “criminal act perpetrated by an emotionally disturbed individual.”
For his part, Mr. Albayalde later said in a televised press conference that authorities have finally identified Mr. Carlos after the gunman’s identity was confirmed by family members, who joined Mr. Albayalde at the news briefing.
A “high-roller” who placed a minimum bet of P40,000 — Mr. Carlos, a father of three, was banned by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation ( PAGCOR) last April from entering casinos following a family request because of his gambling addiction.
“He was barred by PAGCOR from all casinos because of the request of next of kin. This could have probably triggered him,” Mr. Albayalde said.
“He is heavily indebted due to being hooked in casino gambling according to his immediate family. This became the cause of misunderstanding with his wife and parents,” he also said, adding that Mr. Carlos was a discharged employee of the Department of Finance (DoF).
In a press statement in 2014, the DoF said Mr. Carlos, a tax specialist at its One- Stop Shop Inter-agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center, was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman after it was found that he did not disclose all his assets in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
The Ombudsman, in a 17- page decision received on April 25, 2014, dismissed Mr. Carlos for grave misconduct, and gross neglect of duty for not listing his house and lot in Manila in his SALNs from 2003 to 2006, his Toyota Innova car in his 2007 SALN, and his business interests in his 2010 SALN.
Mr. Carlos, the department said, had a total gross income of P2.46 million from 2001-2011.
“He has a bank account with an outstanding debt of (P)4 million, and several other non-bank related debt. He sold his Ford Ranger due to financial constraints,” Mr. Albayalde said of Mr. Carlos.
‘FORGIVENESS’
In the same press conference yesterday, a tearful Teodora Carlos, mother of the gunman, asked for forgiveness.
“Biktima rin po kami ( We are also victims),” the mother said. “Kaya humihingi rin po kami ng tawad sa mga na-disgrasya ng anak ko (That’s why we beg for forgiveness to those who were harmed and killed by my son’s actions).”
“Ang anak po namin na ’ yan ay isang mabait po na anak sa amin. Mula po noong nag- casino ’ yan...di na po kami pinupuntahan niyan puro casino na lang ang ginagawa niya (He was a good son to us. Since he started playing at casinos, he stopped visiting us),” she added.
For his part, Fernando Carlos, father of the assailant, denied that his son was mentally ill but said the younger Carlos had “financial” and “family” problems.“Wala po siyang problema sa pag-iisip (He has no mental illness),” the father said, in contrast to initial reports by the police that Mr. Carlos was “mentally disturbed.”
NOT A TERRORIST ATTACK
Authorities had repeatedly insisted last week that the incident at Resorts World Manila, which is located near the Philippines’ main international airport, was not an act of terrorism but a botched robbery attempt.
Fears about IS’ involvement in the attack were also intensified when the Site Intelligence Group, a US- based organization monitoring extremists’ Web sites, said a Filipino ISIS operative “identified the alleged attacker and noted that his main objective was to burn the casino inside.”
Even US President Donald J. Trump had described the incident in Manila as a “terrorist” attack, adding that Washington is “closely monitoring the situation.”
“We also reiterate our prior statements that this is not an act of terrorism but this incident is confined to the act of one man alone as we have always said,” Mr. Albayalde said yesterday.
“We have and will continue to base our pronouncements on facts and evidence properly gathered. We will not allow people or any threat group to use this situation to advance their propaganda or personal causes whether foreign or local,” he added.