Police chief admits errors

PHILIPPINE police gave up many chances to shoot a sacked colleague who seized a busload of Hong Kong tourists, authorities said on Friday as they admitted to many errors that led to eight hostages being killed.

The country's police chief left Manila halfway through the crisis, the force's best-trained unit sat out a bungled assault on the bus and the media were allowed to run wild, a public inquiry was told.

* Mr Verzosa said he flew from Manila to the southern Philippines four hours into the crisis to attend an official function.

He said he was in the air and unable to communicate with his personnel in charge of the hostage negotiations for about an hour, and then was only able to watch events unfold on television 800 km from Manila. He flew back to Manila after the bloodbath was over.

* Mr Verzosa also acknowledged that the Manila police rescue squad sent to storm the bus and end the crisis was not the best-trained or best-equipped unit at the government's disposal.

The assault squad that did go in did not have critical equipment, including special explosives that could have allowed them entry into the bus immediately, he said. It took them an hour using sledgehammers and rope.

* The unit best-equipped to handle the situation, the police Special Action Force, was in the area but sat out the assault until the last five to 10 minutes, Mr Verzosa said.

* Both Mr Verzosa and Mr Puno also said the police failed to control the crowd, while television and radio stations continued to broadcast the crisis.

This allowed Mendoza to monitor what was going on around him via a television on board, which police failed to disable. MORE