PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III is asking for more time to further review the report of the fact-finding committee tasked to look into the report on the Manila hostage crisis before issuing an official statement.
Aquino received the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report last month and started going over the report after he returned from his visit in the United States.
The President deferred the announcement of his decision on the IIRC report, which recommended charges against 13 personalities and three media networks, saying a careful assessment of the legal implication of his decision is necessary.
He also tasked his legal team, composed of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa, to study the report.
The August 23 hostage-taking incident that killed eight foreign tourists was highly criticized by Hong Kong and the Chinese government and put the country on the spotlight due to the incompetence of police authorities in crisis management. (Sunnex)