Police identify Resorts World Manila gunman as Jessie Carlos
By VJ Bacungan
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) — Police have identified the gunman in the deadly Resorts World Manila incident as Jessie Carlos.
In a June 4 media briefing, National Capital Region Police Office chief Oscar Albayalde said Carlos, a “high-roller” gambler, had millions of pesos in debt.
“He is heavily indebted due to being hooked in casino gambling, according to his immediate family,” he said. “This became the cause of misunderstanding with his wife and parents. He has a bank account with an outstanding debt of P4 million and several other non-bank related debt.”
Albayalde said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, which oversees the operations of casinos like the one in Resorts World Manila, barred Carlos from all casinos in April 2017 upon the request of his family.
“This could have probably triggered him, kaya galit na galit siya sa casino,” he said. “Alam niya, hindi siya basta-basta pwedeng pumasok sa casino para magsugal kasi mayroon siyang picture diyan at hindi siya papayagang pumasok.”
[Translation: This could have probably triggered him, which is why he was so angry at the casinos. He knew that he couldn’t just go into a casino to gamble because his picture would be posted there and he wouldn’t be allowed inside.]
What went before
The incident started around midnight of June 2, when Carlos stormed into the hotel-casino in Pasay City with an M4 carbine and a two-liter bottle of gasoline.
Albayalde said Carlos had bought the gasoline gasoline hours earlier in San Lazaro, Manila, where he hailed a taxi that brought him to Resorts World.
After shooting up property and setting fire to the casino tables and gambling machines, Carlos forced his way into a room and stole ₱113 million of casino chips.
Authorities then engaged and hit Carlos, who locked himself inside a fifth-floor hotel room and set himself on fire before shooting himself in the head.
The incident claimed 38 lives, including Carlos, and injured 67 others.
Albayalde said Carlos had bought the gasoline gasoline hours earlier in San Lazaro, Manila, where he hailed a taxi that brought him to Resorts World.
After shooting up property and setting fire to the casino tables and gambling machines, Carlos forced his way into a room and stole ₱113 million of casino chips.
Authorities then engaged and hit Carlos, who locked himself inside a fifth-floor hotel room and set himself on fire before shooting himself in the head.
The incident claimed 38 lives, including Carlos, and injured 67 others.
Resorts World officials said on June 2 that 13 employees and 24 guests died from suffocation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines, Carlos’ parents, Fernando and Teodora Carlos, pleaded for forgiveness from the relatives of those who died, saying they were also victims in this incident.
The couple also spoke to the media during the PNP briefing.
“Mabait po ang anak ko,” Teodora said, “Kami rin po, hindi namin matanggap na nagka-ganoon siya. Mula noong nag-casino, naiba na ang kanyang (ugali).”
[Translation:My son was a good person. That’s why even we can’t accept what happened to him. He changed when started going to casinos.]
Dismissed from service
Albayalde added that Carlos was discharged by the Department of Finance (DOF) for misdeclaration and non-disclosure of assets in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), which is used by investigators to track possible ill-gotten wealth.
The DOF confirmed this in a June 4 statement, saying that Carlos, a former tax specialist of the agency’s One-Stop Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center, was dismissed by the Ombudsman in April 2014.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the DOF’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) in December 2011 against Carlos.
“In a 17-page Decision received on April 25, 2014, the Ombudsman dismissed Carlos for Grave Misconduct and Gross Neglect of Duty for not declaring his house and lot in Manila in his 2003 to 2006 SALNs, his Toyota Innova SUV in his 2007 SALN and his business interest in his 2010 SALN,” according to a May 2014 statement posted on the RIPS website.
The DOF said Carlos earned nearly ₱2.5 million from 2001 to 2011. But the Ombudsman found that he was able to purchase two farm lots in Tanauan City, Batangas for ₱4 million in 2010.
“The Ombudsman also took note of Carlos’ huge loans,” the DOF-RIPS added.
‘Closed case’
Albayalde said the Resorts World incident is now a “closed case” with regards to the perpetrator.
He also reiterated that the incident was not an act of terrorism.
“We have and will continue to base our pronouncements on facts and evidence properly gathered,” he said. “We will not allow people or any threat group to use this situation to advance their propaganda or personal causes whether foreign or local. This is our duty to the Filipino people and to the international community.”
On June 3, President Rodrigo Duterte brushed aside speculations that the Resorts World Manila attack was the work of international terrorist group ISIS.
“Bakit mo nakawin ang plastic (chips) na alam mo naman hindi mo magamit?” he said in a media briefing in Cagayan de Oro after visiting soldiers wounded in the Marawi clashes. “That guy is crazy. ‘Di naman niya gusto pumatay.”
[Translation: Why would you steal plastic chips that you know you won’t be able to use? That guy is crazy. He didn’t want to kill anyone.]
Concerns over the possible involvement of ISIS came about after SITE Intelligence, a U.S.-based group that tracks online terrorist activity, said ISIS claimed responsibility for the “attack.”
The group said the information comes from an “Islamic State (IS) Filipino operative who provides daily updates on the ongoing clashes in Marawi.”
However, police officials denied the claim.
“Why? Wala yung elemento ng violence, intimidation. Kung ISIS man siya, dapat namaril na siya. Kung talagang siya ay terorista, magsusuot siya ng vest instead of sunugin sarili niya,” said Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa on June 2.
[Translation: Why because there is no element of violence, intimidation. If he is a member of ISIS, he should have fired at people. If he is a terrorist, he should have worn a suicide vest instead of setting himself on fire.]
Dela Rosa said the ISIS claim is part of propaganda.
(Article and Image from cnnphilippines.com)
