Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III answers media queries on the final report of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) regarding the August 23 bus hijacking where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed, during a news conference at Malacanang palace in Manila September 20, 2010. Photo: Xinhua/Reuters

Philippine authorities delivered Monday a copy of the report by the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) on the August 23 hostage incident that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

After handing over the report to Liu Jianchao, China's ambassador to the Philippines, Esteban Conejos Jr, the Philippines' acting foreign affairs secretary, reiterated Manila's deep sorrow and condolences to the victims of the incident.

He also conveyed his appreciation to the assistance provided by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in securing the testimonies of the survivors and the conduct of ballistic examinations.

Annexed to the report were nine folios containing transcripts of the hearings, testimonies, forensic reports and other information gathered by the IIRC.

Also Monday, Philippine President Benigno Aquino revealed that a former national police chief and other senior police officials, an undersecretary of the interior, the Manila mayor and two broadcasters were among 12 people who could face charges following the report.

Three broadcast networks were also found liable.

Parts of the findings published online offered a scathing indictment of the Philippine police response to the hijacking, accusing the force of negligence, insubordination and failing to gather intelligence as the crisis unfolded.

"We are committed to implementing the necessary changes to upgrade the capabilities of our local government units, police and security forces, to ensure the safety of the public," Aquino said at a news conference before leaving for a working visit to the US.

Agencies