MANILA: President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino on Friday took full responsibility for the bungled police rescue attempt that resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong tourists who were held hostage by a dismissed Manila police captain on Aug.23.

“At the end of the day, I am responsible for everything that has transpired,” the President told Malacanang reporters as a five-member committee started also on Friday marathon three-day hearings on the tragedy that chilled relations between the Philippines as well as Hong Kong and China.

As ordered by Aquino, the inquiry will be fair, thorough and transparent and those responsible will be held accountable.

In taking the blame, the President defended Secretary Jesse Robredo of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) whose dismissal is being demanded by opposition lawmakers for his alleged involvement in the botched rescue attempt.

Aquino explained that during the hostage-taking, he had full control and supervision over the Philippine National Police (PNP) through Rico Puno whom he appointed DILG undersecretary in charge of police matters and public safety.

For this reason, Aquino pointed out that Puno is partly to blame for the glaring lapses that attended the fiasco, which resulted in the killing of the eight tourists as well as the hostage-taker, former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza of the Manila Police District.

The President disclosed that when he named Robredo to the DILG, he told him to concentrate on the local government units and leave the police problems to him and Puno.

He explained local government units needed Robredo’s urgent attention, particularly in the delivery of basic services to their constituents, as well as the need to coordinate with local officials in solving the problem of “informal settlers,” more popularly known as squatters.

Robredo was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, considered Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize, for his outstanding performance as the three-term mayor of Naga City in the Bicol Region.

In a related development, the committee started hearing on Friday the testimonies of the officials and personalities who had a direct participation in the hostage-taking drama.

The first to testify before the committee, headed by Secretary Leila de Lima of the Department of Justice, was DILG’s Puno who said he was taking the blame for the lapses in the hostage-taking fiasco.

Puno likewise admitted that he has no training in handling hostage-taking situations and similar serious cases.

The second to testify was Director General Jesus Verzosa, the head of the 125,000-strong PNP, who admitted he flew to Mindanao on August 23 at the height of the negotiations for the release of the hostages, composed of 22 Hong Kong tourists and three Filipinos, including the driver.

Verzosa said he left for Mindanao to attend a regional meeting on peace and security in Cagayan de Oro City but insisted he was on “top of the situation” by remaining in constant contact with the crisis management panel ordered to deal with the hostage-taker.