JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a DNA examination on the remains of the gunman in the Resorts World Manila attack that killed 38 people.
He said the DNA test would erase all doubt as to the identity of the gunman identified by the police as former Finance Department employee Jessie Javier Carlos.
Carlos used gasoline to set fire on casino tables that killed the 38 people who died of suffocation. He then locked himself in a room and then set fire to himself before shooting himself.
The authorities earlier claimed that the gunman was a Caucasian-looking individual who appeared to be six-feet tall.
But Carlos’ family reached out to the police and confirmed that he was the man shown in the footage taken by security cameras during the incident on June 2.
In other developments:
• Carlos the gunman had sought to be reinstated to his post as a tax specialist in the Finance Department following his dismissal from the service by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2012.
But the Court of Appeals denied his petition for review in 2015 and instead upheld his dismissal arising from his alleged unexplained wealth in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
• Carlos had an exclusion order from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. in all Pagcor-regulated casinos about a month before his attack, the agency said Monday.
The Exclusion Order was requested by his wife Maria Angelita Agcopra Carlos. Pagcor said the order was effective “in all Pagcor-operated and regulated gaming establishments.” That meant he was banned from all Pagcor-regulated casinos.
Pagcor on Monday stood firm against any form of gambling addiction.
On Sunday, Aguirre ordered the NBI to conduct a parallel investigation and case build-up over the Resorts World Manila incident.
He said the NBI should determine whether there was criminal, civil and administrative culpability on any agency, office or instrumentality of the government and whether the same could be found against the owners, managers and employees of Resorts World Manila.
“We need to know and to determine the responsibility and the liability, if any, of anyone which made possible the tragic events at Resorts World Manila,” Aguirre said.
“Whoever is responsible for allowing this tragedy to occur should be made accountable under our laws and before our courts.”