RESORTS World Manila was ordered to boost security in the hotel and casino days before it was attacked, but it did not heed the advice, an official said Wednesday.
A lone gunman entered the casino on June 2 and set fire on the gaming tables, killing 37 guests who died of suffocation. He then locked himself in a room on the fifth floor and committed suicide by setting himself on fire and then shooting himself.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairwoman Andrea Domingo told a House investigation a security advisory was issued to all gaming operators”•including Resorts World Manila”•on May 24 or nine days before the gunman attacked.
But House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas slammed Domingo for failing to order stopping the operation of Resorts World Manila following the attack.
He also slammed the National Capital Region Police Office for the lapses in security.
Domingo said the establishments were reminded to add precautionary security measures in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Marawi and the martial law declaration in Mindanao.
“We issued a security advisory to all of our licensees and all gaming site operators,” she said.
Pagcor is a government agency that regulates casinos and issues licenses to operate.
Domingo said Pagcor was unable to suspend Resorts World’s license immediately after the incident because the hotel voluntarily suspended all operations.
“The violation that we know now is they did not listen to our security advisory, which they are supposed to follow according to their provisional license conditions,” Domingo said.
She said it was clear in the security camera footage that the casino lacked security, especially in the mall entrance of the establishment.
Based on the video released by the casino, the lone gunman entered with two guns and liters of gasoline on June 2. He went past a security guard and a metal detector and brandished his firearm.
The gunman, Jessie Carlos, a former Finance department employee and a gambling addict according to his relatives, fired his M4 carbine inside the casino and set gambling tables on fire. He later on died when he set himself on fire inside a hotel room and shot himself in the head.
Resorts World Manila Chief Operating Officer Stephen Reilly said the management “openly admits there were some lapses on security.”
The casino-hotel’s security chief, Armeen Gomez, said the company had 250 security personnel and an emergency reaction team that handles situations connected to fire, security and medical concerns.
Fariñas questioned the qualifications of Gomez. Gomez said he had 10 years of experience working in the security field. But Fariñas said Gomez was dismissed from the Philippine Military Academy for personal reasons and that he failed to graduate from college.