Still, Darius Balala said he could not accept his son’s death, and somehow still blamed himself for it.
"Kung nandoon lang ako, may nagawa sana ako (If I were there, I could have done something)," Darius said Thursday night in Isyu, a late-night ABS-CBN program hosted by Korina Sanchez and Cito Beltran.
The program brought Darius and his wife Salvacion face-to-face with Diomedes’ mother, Rosita, and his live-in girlfriend, Lydia Ganotize.
The Balalas wore a blank expression on their faces throughout the hour-long show. When Rosita, whose wrinkled face showed signs of grief and humility, asked them to forgive Diomedes, Salvacion whispered "Opo (Yes)." Darius, meanwhile, nodded — his answer inaudible. He hardly looked at the hosts of the show when he spoke.
Ganotize also acknowledged Diomedes’ drug problem during the show, echoing the police’s confirmation that the hostage-taker tested positive for shabu use. However, she asked Metro Manila Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay, who also made a guest appearance during the show, why the police continued shooting her "Diomy" even after he has been felled by the first hail of bullets.
Aglipay said an internal investigation on the matter has been launched.
The show also brought Diomedes’ children, Glaisa, Lovely and Luis, to their grandmother for the first time in many years.
Both Glaisa and Lovely have reportedly been sexually abused by their grandfather and uncle-in-law. The show producer used a technique to smear the minors’ faces to protect their identity.
Meanwhile, one of the eight security guards charged with homicide for the death of Balala fired his service shotgun along with several other Pasay City policemen in the botched rescue attempt.
Paraffin tests revealed that Raul Herbias was positive for powder burns, said Alejandro de Guzman, Philtranco vice president for safety and security.
De Guzman added that the bus company decided to change its security agency after the botched rescue operation that led to the deaths of Balala and Talbo.
But Alex Yague, Philtranco president, said Thursday that the company had been planning to terminate the services of SAGA Security even before the hostage-taking incident.
De Guzman also confirmed that the Lito Arriola whom Talbo demanded to talk to throughout the hostage drama was a former Philtranco bus driver.
De Guzman however said he was not aware of how the two met and how long they had known each other. Arriola left Philtranco several months before the incident.
Meanwhile at city hall, rumors abound that personal differences between relieved Pasay City police chief Superintendent Eduardo de la Cerna and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) head Chief Inspector Simon Gonzales, contributed to the failed rescue.
Gonzales was nowhere in sight, and reportedly not informed of the situation throughout the two-hour pre-dawn hostage drama.
Only two of Gonzales’ nine men, PO3 Jose Jonard Castro and PO2 Renato Leaño, responded to the incident, but they reportedly hesitated to disable Talbo, despite orders from De la Cerna.
De la Cerna, who along with Castro, Leaño and 18 other policemen has been charged with homicide, denied having a rift with Gonzales.
"In fairness to Major Gonzales, he was not informed by his men. It was the standard operating procedure (SOP) that his men should be the ones to inform him," De la Cerna said.
Being the city police chief, De la Cerna acted as ground commander during the rescue operation.