One incident, many results

Police and SWAT members assault a tourist bus to rescue hostages at Manila's Rizal Park Monday Aug.23, 2010 in Manila

The neverending debates go on and on over the tragic incident of the Manila Bus Hostage Crisis that happend last August 23. After dismissed Chief Inspector Captain Rolando Mendoza started it all, 8 foreign nationals were dead. The entire Filipino nation is put in an unprecedented situation of shame, disgracefulness, grief, blames, and fear of losing economic promise. There is suddenly a great threat for tourism, export and service industry and investment oppurtunities with China and Hong Kong. In only one day, many things have changed.

Let’s start with our sentiments toward the 26 victims who, while touring our beautiful country, suddenly found themselves as hostages. When one dismissed policeman wanted his position back, held them, using his M16 rifle and a pistol. 8 innocent people causelessly lost their lives, while most of the rest were seriuosly injured. Captain Mendoza himself died of a sniper’s bullet. This is very unfortunate and horrific incident for our country and people. The stains left will forever stay in the minds of many.

A horrified victim being dragged by Hostage Taker Capt. Rolando Mendoza inside the bus

My heartfelt condolences to the victims.

The outrage of Hong Kong People is understandable. And we honor and respect their feelings. While we are humbling ourselves before our chinese brethren, we ask them to find in their hearts to understand us, for we too are in pain and saddend by this unfortunate event.

But what went wrong? There are so many questions that need to be answered but there is no single absolute rightful answer to all the questions. There are so many dimensions that need to be considered. The President of the Philippines is facing what is said to be the government’s failure on its first major crisis, from having been unsuccessfully reached by phone,  to the conflicting stories of his communications group, to smiling, to allegedly having weak control over police and security matters, to not intervening during the operation, to his Tourism Secretary’s non immediate action to help the victims, to his DILG Secretary’s lack of leadership to the PNP and the Manila City Government. Also, the camp of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is grabbing the oppurtunity to slash back at the Aquino Administration, not recognizing the fact that the new administration had only been in office for 55 days and 9 years before that, they were the ones responsible for preparing the police force for this kind of crisis.

President Benigno S.C. Aquino, III

For the part of the PNP, there was an admission of failed leadership of the crisis committee under Supt. Magtibay, who with 4 others were relieved a day after, and whose successor had been relieved after a day’s appointment. The negotiators also aired out admission of failure. Evidently, the PNP was not prepared to counteract such serious threats to citizen security. From lack of confident judgement, to lack of necessary equipment, to lack of sufficient combat operation tactics, to lack of full control over media, by standers, the hostage taker and the situation as a whole. All of these, unfolded before the international sight.

I still strongly believe, that indeed, the presence of the brother of Mendoza, Gregorio, did not help and infact just worsened the situation. Gregorio, who is also a policeman himself, added insult to injury to the already struggling image of the Philippine Police force. His childish actuations during his arrest did not help at all. Not knowing his real intentions for coming up armed and telling his brother not to give in until he gets back his pistol, was a very unnecessary call. It was just right that he was removed from the scene. Unfortunately, the incident was seen by his brother which resulted to his aggravation. This is were the blame for the media comes in. But so far no media have admitted fault for their free blow by blow footage of the whole saga.

Captain Rolando Mendoza

The draping of the Philippine flag on Mendoza’s coffin was a “major major insult”, not only to the victims but to the dignity of the country as well. Fortunately, they took away the flag after the Chinese embassy reacted. It said, only those who died with heroism, decency and integrity deserve the flag but not those who took advantage of innocent souls and used them to pursue their own personal grievances, like Mendoza. Allegedly, the Mayor of that town in Batangas, sent the flag to be displayed at the casket.

Today, the Chinese government will not accept our RP delegation to China, until we are able to submit a full investigation report of the whole incident. 

Police Force

Instead of blaming and pin pointing at each other, this whole situation suggests that a whole lot of study and improvements need to be done. Crisis awareness should not be taken for granted, along with others. The Philippne National Police needs to be resystematized and fully equipped and prepared for all threats of disastrous crisis.

Lastly, we need a genuine brave leadership in our government.

Statement of the President on the hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand

President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, III

 With the rest of the Filipino people, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage situation at the Quirino Grandstand. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs has conveyed our deep feelings of sorrow to the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China and the people of Hong Kong through Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. I have tasked Secretaries Soliman and Lim to provide everything necessary for the recovery and return home of the survivors. I have directed the fullest cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities on the part of our officials.

From the onset of this incident, the hostage-taker seemed to not be belligerent, as shown by the release of hostages. These were encouraging signs.

We were going to wait him out. The idea was to let the ground commanders who are the experts in this field handle the operation with minimal interference from people who are less expert.

But the situation deteriorated rapidly when, during the course of the negotiations, he was given the letter of the Ombudsman in which she promised to personally review his case. As he was reading the contents of the letter, while talking to an unknown individual on the phone, he became increasingly agitated.

The presence of his brother also added to the tension.

At this point, he threatened to kill a hostage. The police decided to remove the brother from the scene. As the negotiators were departing, the negotiators were shot at.

Media coverage of his brother being taken into custody further agitated the hostage-taker.

Shots were fired. They seemed to be warning shots, as there was no audible indication of tumult or chaos to show that the hostages were in immediate danger.

Nonetheless, the negotiators tried to reestablish contact with the hostage-taker but they were unsuccessful as the cellphone of the hostage-taker was continuously busy. He also refused to answer the throw-phone provided for him by the authorities.

The escape of the driver, combined with his reports that the hostages were being harmed, forced the assault to happen. When the vehicle began to move, and with reports that he had hand grenades, a decision was made to immobilize the vehicle as it would have made the situation even more dangerous.

As we know, the incident tragically ended in the deaths of eight innocent civilians.

We expect more of the facts to come to light and I have ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to thoroughly lead this review.

Copied from:www.president.gov.ph.com

Bus Hostage Crisis:Why Rolando Mendoza had to resort to this?

It is always easy to say that former Chief Inspector Mendoza had lost his sanity when he resorted into a Bus Hostage Saga yesterday. Losing his own life and 8 others in a bloody shootout is indeed horrible. Surely, this incident will create a new picture of the Philippines in the international view.  It is very unfortunate that this had to happen when our country is in the verge of reaching out for the best that is said to yet to come. When a new hope is brightly shinning in every Filipino faces. When the government is in the course of transforming itself into what P-noy says, “Tayo na sa tuwid na daan tungo sa kaunlaran”. Yet, this incident poses a great challenge not just for the government of the Philippines, but for every Filipino.

August 23, 2010, the crisis began when former Police Senior Inspector, a 55 year old Rolando Mendoza, seized a tourist bus on its stop at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila, hijacking 26 of its passengers mostly Chinese nationals from Hong Kong. In the course of the drama at the famous Quirino grandstand, Mendoza released nine hostages, leaving behind at least 16 others. He later succumbed to a sniper’s bullet in his temporal lobe. His demands? Give him back the job.

Former Police Inspector Rolando Mendoza inside his hijacked bus

I feel terribly sorry, for the innocent victims. I cannot imagine myself being inside of that bus, in this very horrifying situation with an uncertain result where death is very vividly possible any moment. My heart goes to those who perished from this insensible death. This is indeed a very sad moment for the Philippines. This is very consequential in as much as international relations, investments, security and tourism factors are concerned.

According to Mendoza’s brother, another policeman Gregorio, his brother Rolando is very disappointed about his fate in his career after he was unjustly removed from service last January. Putting to waste all his 31 years of service and losing all his retirment benefits. Mendoza, a well decorated recipient of 17 awards and commendations whose house, according to son Police Officer Bismark, is full of laminated plaques, claimed he was not accorded due process.

One of the victims being transported by the Medics

In 2008, an administrative case was brought against Mendoza after he and 4 other policemen allegedly extorted PHP 20,000.00 from Christian Kalaw, a chef at Mandarin Hotel, who was also said to have been forced to swallow a sachet of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

The police officers involved, reportedly cited Kalaw for illegal parking, driving without a license and use of illegal drugs on April 9, 2008, in Manila.

The brother said, Mendoza even contemplated on filing an impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merciditas Guttierez for failing to serve him justice. Mendoza, in a phone interview with ABS CBN’s Jorge Carino hours before he was gunned down, said he wrote an appeal to Guttierez three times but never got a response, not even a copy of the Ombudsman’s final decision of his case. In desperation, Mendoza said his life is senseless.

The dead body of Rolando Mendoza half hanging on the doors of the bus

Again, everything goes back to the system where we are all in right now. Whoever or whatever inflicted it on us, be it the government, judiciary, legislative, poverty or corruption, I hope this lesson is well learned and never forgotten.