Resorts World attacker was ‘rent-tangay’ racket victim, says widow

The gunman in the Resorts World Manila attack had engaged in casino financing and fallen victim to the “rent-tangay” racket, according to his widow.

Jessie Javier Carlos, 42, a former Department of Finance employee, raised capital through loans and by selling his watch, his van, his wife’s pickup, and their farm in Batangas province, the widow, Angelita Carlos, 41, said in a statement submitted to police investigators.

The widow said she was still paying installments on the pickup when Carlos sold it late last year, prompting her to ask state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to ban him from casinos.

She said she and her husband had not been in good terms since 2015 because she was against his casino financing business.

Several times, she said, Carlos had fallen victim to the “rent-tangay” racket, where stolen vehicles were sold to unwitting buyers.

To settle the owners’ complaints, Carlos had to return the vehicles without recovering the money he paid for them, she said.

The widow said Carlos financed casino players in City of Dreams but when he started gambling himself, he played at Resorts World Manila.

On her and his parents’ request, Pagcor banned Carlos from the casinos on April 3.

Just after midnight on Friday, Carlos, armed with an assault rifle, a pistol and gasoline, attacked Resorts World, shooting TV screens, torching gambling tables and stuffing his backpack with P113.1 million worth of gaming chips.

Thirty-seven staff, patrons and guests died of smoke inhalation in the fire, while Carlos forced his way into a room in an adjacent hotel and committed suicide.

Police investigators have requested macroetching of the Bushmaster M4 carbine used by Carlos to determine the defaced serial number and the registered owner.

Supt. Jenny Tecson, spokesperson for the Southern Police District, said the investigators had yet to get statements from survivors of the attack for their accounts of what happened.

At least two of the survivors had gunshot wounds in the legs, according to an initial police report.

Investigators were also waiting for the report of the Bureau of Fire Protection to determine whether the sprinklers in the hotel-casino worked during the fire and whether there were enough exit points in the complex.