MANILA, Philippines?When exactly was the ?most critical moment? during the Aug. 23 hostage-taking incident?

Hearings last week indicated the moment came when the first shot was fired by the hostage-taker?dismissed Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza?at nightfall following the daylong standoff that eventually left eight Hong Kong tourists and Mendoza dead.

The proceedings being conducted by a presidential fact-finding committee headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima have been extended up to Wednesday. She said it was not possible to wrap up the hearings on Monday as earlier planned.

De Lima said she would summon Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to discuss reports that Mendoza during the crisis had a telephone conversation with a certain ?Director Gonzalez? in connection with a P150,000 bribe ostensibly for dropping extortion charges that had prompted the officer?s dismissal.

A reenactment of the hostage crisis covered live by international TV networks was scheduled Monday. On Tuesday, the five-member panel plans to visit the scene of the bloodbath in front of Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park.

When exactly was that crucial moment during the drama and who was in charge appeared to be points that the committee was trying to establish to pin down responsibility for the mess that exposed the Aquino administration to global ridicule for its ineptness.

During the hearing on Saturday, committee member Teresita Ang See asked Chief Supt. Leocadio Santiago, head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), and Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno when the most critical moment was.

?What period are you referring to, Ma?am,? asked Santiago, who gave a lengthy reply but did not answer the question. Moreno also failed to provide a specific reply to the query.

Ang See, representative of the local Chinese-Filipino community, said she thought it was the time Mendoza fired the first shot and the arrest of his brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza.

The De Lima panel was told that Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, head of the crisis management committee, left the scene even after the shooting started.

Lim reportedly proceeded to Emerald Restaurant, along with Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno, Santiago and Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay.

Magtibay, the Manila Police District (MPD) director, was operations commander during the standoff. He has since been relieved as MPD chief.

President Benigno Aquino III was reported to have gone to the restaurant as well.

Moreno also said he left the area and went to the nearby Manila Pavilion hotel for coffee after Lim departed.

A joint affidavit by members of the Special Action Force (SAF) indicated that at 9:30 p.m., after the assault had ended, they were told by Santiago to proceed to Emerald Restaurant to meet with the President.

During Saturday?s hearing, Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said the ?tipping points? during the crisis were the time Mendoza rejected the Ombudsman?s letter offering to review his extortion case and when his brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, resisted arrest.

Moreno told the committee that he and Lim separately left the command center at Rizal Park even after Mendoza had fired a shot from the bus.

Most of the resource persons interrogated by the panel in the first two days of the inquiry expressed confidence that the crisis will be resolved peacefully because Mendoza appeared ?cooperative? with his release of a number of hostages.

Santiago also testified that the highly trained Special Action Force (SAF) took a supportive role to the MPD SWAT team despite orders from the Philippine National Police brass for the SAF to lead the assault.

Santiago said he ordered the SAF to ?move forward? when he saw that the SWAT?s assault had been stalled for half an hour. The SAF, along with other national forces, had been placed on standby at Rizal Park.

Santiago told the panel that the order for Magtibay to utilize the SAF was relayed through Supt. Remus Medina, an NCRPO official.

?I directed the participation [of the SAF] when I received information when the [MPD?s] assault was stalled. That?s the time I ordered them to go forward and meet with the MPD SWAT,? Santiago said.

?It was not only once but several times,? Santiago said in response to questioning by De Lima.

Santiago, previously an SAF chief, said PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa preferred the SAF to lead the assault.

?Apparently, he [Magtibay] did not address that. It was still the MPD SWAT who was the main assaulters,? De Lima noted.

?Yes, Ma?am,? Santiago replied.