ONLY one of eight government and police officials blamed for last month's bungled hostage rescue in Manila should face criminal charges, according to a government report seen yesterday by The Associated Press.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim should immediately face administrative and criminal complaints for alleged blunders that caused the daylong hostage standoff on August 23 to degenerate into a bloody end that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, said a report by a fact-finding committee.

Seven other officials should not face charges unless a future investigation substantiates them.

President Benigno Aquino III told reporters in New York, where he is on an official visit, that he did not want criminal complaints filed if the cases are uncertain.

"You do not unnecessarily prosecute people, if it's not warranted," he said.

Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, the highest official blamed for the botched rescue, offered to resignyesterday.

"If I'll be a burden to the president, I'm willing to resign," Puno told a news conference.

The fiasco attempt left the eight tourists and the lone hostage-taker - dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza - dead on a parked bus in a standoff watched by millions on live TV.

Aquino on Monday ordered a fact-finding report to be released to China and the public, but withheld a crucial section - seen Wednesday by AP - that placed much of that blame on Lim and Manila Police Chief Rodolfo Magtibay, saying they had failed to perform their roles in overseeing the crisis.

Among other lapses, Lim and Magtibay left the scene for a restaurant before the hostage-taker started shooting the hostages. Magtibay allegedly defied Aquino's order to deploy an elite police commando team but instead used a local SWAT team, the report said.

It was not immediately clear why charges were not recommended against Magtibay. He was replaced by another officer during the standoff and subsequently lost his job as police chief.

• rescue [´reskju:] vt.&n.救援；挽救 (初中英语单词)
• criminal [´kriminəl] a.犯罪的 n.罪犯 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• bloody [´blʌdi] a.(流)血的；血腥的 (初中英语单词)
• investigation [in,vesti´geiʃən] n.调查(研究) (初中英语单词)
• uncertain [ʌn´sə:tn] a.不定的；不可靠的 (初中英语单词)
• interior [in´tiəriə] n.&a.内部地(的) (初中英语单词)
• resign [ri´zain] v.辞职；放弃；委托 (初中英语单词)
• willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
• conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• restaurant [´restərɔnt] n.饭店，菜馆 (初中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)
• subsequently [´sʌbsikwəntli] a.其次，接着 (高中英语单词)
• administrative [əd´ministrətiv] a.管理的，行政的 (英语四级单词)
• degenerate [di´dʒenərət, -reit] vi.腐化，堕落 (英语四级单词)
• prosecute [´prɔsikju:t] v.彻底进行(调查) (英语四级单词)
• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)
• withheld [wið´held] withhold过去式(分词) (英语六级单词)