Philippine President Benigno Aquino will not pursue criminal charges against most of the officials found responsible for the botched August 23 hostage rescue that left eight Hong Kong holidaymakers dead.
Aquino rejected an independent panel's recommendation to investigate or file criminal charges against eight police and government officials for their roles in the crisis.
Instead, he ordered the filing of administrative charges against six of these officials.
Only one official, Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzales - accused by hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza of demanding a 150,000-peso (HK$26,700) bribe for favourable treatment - will be investigated for possible criminal liability.
The president's actions fall short of those recommended in last month's strongly worded report by the Incident Investigation and Review Committee. It said action should be considered against 10 government and police officials, two journalists and three broadcasters.
The president ordered the National Police Commission to file administrative charges against four police officials - Manila police chief Rodolfo Magtibay for gross incompetence and serious neglect of duty; Manila regional police director Leocadio Santiago Jnr for less grave neglect of duty; chief negotiator Superintendent Orlando Yebra for neglect of duty; and Manila SWAT team leader Santiago Pascual for gross incompetence.
