Hostage Drama Humiliated the Police and The Philippines
It was but a tragic and bloody rescue operation. Gathering all negative feedbacks, most Filipinos who witnessed the hostage taking were angered with how the media and the police contributed to the failure of hostage taking management.
Last night, as I was watching carefully the live coverage in both giant TV stations in the Philippines, I can't help but to be disappointed with how the police managed the crisis and that how the media contributed to it.
Of course, none of them would probably admit that they are to be blamed for what happened. And both of them will say: “We are just doing our jobs.” But coming from an observer, I tried to enlist glitches that contributed to the bloody end of the hostage drama.
- The hostage taker is not asking for a ransom money. He is asking to give back his dignity. But the PNP are not willing to give it.
- While trying to watch the earlier video clips taken, I have seen that the hostage taker is much more vulnerable to be neutralized earlier since he can afford to be at the door of the bus and even take a look over the window. But then again, the SWAT are not ready which is very unfortunate.
- At night time, the PNP knows that everything is a live coverage and they know of the HUGE possibility that the hostage taker was watching the news inside the bus. But they still agraviated the hostage taker as he sees his family being forced to be taken to precint.
- They did not declare a media block out during the operation making the hostage taker become aware of their every move.
- The media feasted on covering the whole operation lacking the common sense that they are actually contributing to the failure of the operation by allowing the hostage taker track the moves of the SWAT.
Well, congratulations! We just made our country become the headline world wide. And now, Hongkong and China just released travel advisory against us.
I am not blaming the PNP and the media on this part. But I hope, both will learn many lessons from this incident.
As an ordinary citizen, what can you suggest to improve our PNP and how media should be responsible in this kind of situation?
38 comments:
Sana lang makabawi tayo sa mundo sa ibang paraan. Sana mag undergo ng mas mainam na training mga police natin.
Sa media naman, sana magkaroon din naman tayo minsan ng common sense sa pag cocover...
Noon sa pelikula ko lang napapanood ang tulad ng mga ganitong stupid acts ng media... ngayon true to life na.
Lol.. what do you mean you can't blame both PNP and Media? lol They screwed up! well... as for the media... they were only doing their jobs. If PNP did THEIR jobs, they would've called a media black-out. The media then would have less access to the happenings, which would have been better in that situation.
While the government can improve the Police, the government can never lay a hand on the media. They can never control the media.
Where were the spy cams? Where were the Tactics? I just saw like a dozen little policemen try with all their might to lift a sledgehammer. It took them an hour to storm the bus??? If the f*cker was even crazier, ALL those people would be dead!!!
TRAIN ALL THESE COPS PLEASE!!!
simpleng demand ayaw i meet.. putah.. nman.. 16 lives.. kontra sa kapiranggot na sweldo ng pulis buti kung gaya ng mga GOCC executives ang sweldo nyan.. eh ngayon magkano bayad natin sa lahat ng nasira at nmatay?.. compare nga kaysa dun sa demand.. amp.. nwala n makatao sa maka diyos daw na bansa natin..hayy..
Philippine should have some kind of Internal Security Act in place to prevent any such tragedy from ever happening again.
Last night, a news blackout should be ordered by the president. But reports states the following:
"However, he (the president) said that if the government had ordered a news blackout, it would have been accused of censoring media."
Media should telecast their coverage with at least a 10 minutes delay. And this should also be included in the Philippine Internal Security Act.
The sniper could have fired earlier when the Mendoza is releasing some of the hostages right at the bus door; if the press photographers could have open shots at Mendoza.
Some says it's against human rights to fire before the hostage-taker fired.
Nonsence about human right groups. Mendoza is an armed hostage-taker and already considered 'armed and dangerous'. he should be shot on sight.
PNP/SWAT should be re-organized (overhauled). They are a bunch of stupid fools following some idiotic commanders.
SAD! SAD! DISGRACEFUL!!! for the whole Republic.
Arresting the brother of the hostage taker only worsened the whole situation. Those who gave that stupid command should be dismissed from the service. Napaka wierdo talaga mag isip ng mokong na yon'. How can he possibly arrive to such conclusion na accessory to the crime yong kapatid? Ano'ng napala nila sa pag aresto nila, lalo pa tuloy lumala ang sitwasyon. Simpleng bagay lang naman ang hinihingi ng hostage taker na pwedi namang madaan sa usapan kung itoy pinakinggan lamang. Listening and talking about his demands does'nt necessarily mean giving into it naman di ba? Nasan na ang mga magagaling nyong negotiators,..they could have done it in the first place. It was only just a matter of negotiation. Ang bopol nyo talaga,siguro gusto nyo lang talaga mag training ulit.
Nangyari na ang hindi dapat mangyari...somebody has to be held accountable - enough of finger-pointing please - nobody wanted it to happen - the best thing to do now is to work as ONE and put all our efforts to redeem our honor and name from the international communities - NGAYON NA! paano? treat all tourists the treatment they deserve as visitors of our "home"... hindi naman kayo siguro bastos at abusado sa mga bisita ninyo sa "bahay" niyo, diba? GAWIN NATIN ITO, NOW NA!
you filipinos murdered and killed my relatives! you are all the same greedy arrogant ignorant self righteous pieces of shit!
you only think of yourself and what you want!
now that you have murdered our people the chinese senselessly we will retaliate! because you are all pieces of shits!
you think just because you can blog in ENGLISH all will be well?!
The world hates you! and you are the lowlife's of this planet!
oh yeah, my government HONG KONG and CHINA will not take this lowly, we will kick all your people out of our country just as you senselessly killed our people!
that's why you are poor and uneducated because you are arrogant, ignorant and self righteous criminal in thoughts and action!
and to add, you call the chinese racist? open your eyes your country is dirty and greeday and thieves everywhere from your gov't down to your neighbor!
The TRUTH of ALL TRUTHS:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=422682614138&id=617032003&ref=mf
Postcripts To A BloodBath
by Eric Po on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 1:14pm
Mr. Mendoza was already upset even before he saw on television what the policemen did to his brother. The other tourists who remained inside the bus were complaining. Wei Ji Jiang wanted to go to the bathroom. Dao Chi Yu was hungry and the rest were just groaning and whining like they have forgotten that our lives rest in Mr. Mendoza's hands. The hostage taker, as you know him was really nice. He treated us okay and even let the elders and the children leave the bus. He said your policemen treated him unfairly. He was a policeman too and was accused of doing something he had no knowledge of. But your government didn't listen so he used us to get everyone's attention. Things would have never turned for the worst if he didn't see how his family was dragged out of their house and taken into custody. He was watching the news all the time as we huddled around each other behind the bus. He shouted some words in your language then started shooting in the air. A girl about my age started screaming. Mr. Mendoza demanded her to stop but she didn't understand English. God, he had to slash her neck with a knife just to put her to rest. Her boyfriend who tried to hit him was shot in the head. Tension was rising. You can see in his face how scared and confused he was. The bus driver ran away leaving him alone with strangers from a distant land. I can see him walking across the aisle, sometimes pointing his machine gun to one of the tourists. But he tried his best not to hurt us, especially those who really cooperate. I guess its in your nature not to inflict pain on others unless it was necessary. I remember him saying that he will free us before sundown and implored us to forget everything when we return home. But his words don't matter now. The policemen were trying to force their way in, while we all lied down to shield ourselves from bullets. Mister Mendoza blindly shoots at his enemies which I think kept them from rescuing us. I hear sobs under the chairs. Some were even shouting the names of their loved ones even when the air merely eat their words. Kevin Tang tried to escape when the glass door was was shattered, but one shot and he slumped on the floor with blood gushing from his mouth. Heavy rain pitter-pattered on the rooftop. In old Chinese saying, it means an end to a struggle. Finally, somebody was able to open the escape hatch at the back of the bus. Freedom. But I knew Mister Mendoza was still alive. I knew he was just waiting for a chance to strike back at his enemies. So I told those around me not to escape. Let the authorities come for us instead. Then there was gunfire. He was firing at his enemies with a machine gun. Those who were at the escape hatch fled abandoning us once again. It's like a nightmare with no end and to wake up means a certain death. Then somebody from outside the bus threw a canister. It forced out a black smoke that is so painful to the eyes and putrid smelling to the nose. People started screaming. We cannot breathe. Some ran in front of the bus but Mister Mendoza warned them of stray bullets. It was too late. One was hit on the head, the other was hit on the shoulders. Bullets were now flying. Its like the authorities thought we were all dead. Mister Mendoza finally admits his mistake and said sorry to everyone, dead or alive. He then ran towards the front of the bus where he would meet his maker. As he passed by my chair with bullets whistling overhead, I clutched my hand on the velvet curtain and wrapped it around my face. All I could think of was to stay alive - for my child who is waiting for me back in Xinjang.
I know I will survive, I will come home.
-Bang Lu Min Survivor, Quirino Bloodbath
I blame the ground commander and negotiators.
Those SWAT teams have been trained enough.
The problem was that there was no clear strategy. Nobody knew what to do. It was a free for all.
Those Generals are the ones that need more training.
The negotiator should have realized the gunman was mentally deranged. Basing on the demand alone, you can clearly tell Mendoza was mentally sick.
Hostage-taking as means to restored back to government service? Can't they tell the guy's mentally deranged?
They should have consulted a psychiatrist or psychologist. Or served the gunman a nice dinner laced with a large dose of sedatives.
Those negotiators and ground commander didn't use their brains.
I don't blame the press or the SWAT. Their leaders are to blame.
dapat pinagbigyan nyo munting kahilingan kahit man lng di magserbisyo bilang pulis sana sa benepisyo nyo nlng binigay, ngayon sa katumbas ng buhay at disgrace sa atin bansa! magisip muna kau bago askyon!
I really believe that arresting the hostage-taker's brother made it worse. When I saw that on TV, I asked myself what the policemen could get to the brother if they will arrest him? If only I could say it through the television and tell the policemen and convince them not to arrest his brother for it would make him angry, maybe I've done a good part. I put myself on Rolando Mendoza's shoes, I would do the same if they touch my family who has no fault on the situation. All I wanted was to give me my demands.
Hindi ko na talaga alam ang dapat naming gawin. For many years as an OFW, we have been working hard both in our jobs and within the foreign community para maiangat naman ang dignidad at reputasyon ng Pilipinas at mga Pinoy. Then suddenly... this. And the worst part is that among all those involved, no one will ever admit being at fault and will even point fingers at each other.
Ironically, this incident happened a few days after the death anniversary of Ninoy Aquino, who stated that "the Filipino is worth dying for." I begin to wonder if that is even true. (Sorry, it's just so depressing...)
wala na reputasyon ang pilipinas at mga pilipino.. yan na tayo sa buong mundo.. mhirap na yan bwiin..
What I don't understand is...why not give-in to Mendoza's demands.. he is not asking for millions anyway... they just ignore his demands instead provoked him more by arresting his family members... Very lame & shameful move by out POLICEMEN & Government officals... Maybe there is something more behind this.. POLITICAL i guess...
giving in to his primary demand would, give a message to everyone that is ok to take innocent people hostage.. that could possibly cause more deaths in the future..
bakit ba nag sorry pa ang isang bata sa buong nation e nangyayari naman yan kahit saan bansa may mga loko-loko. ang china na ba nag so-sorry yan pag may mga kasalanansila libo nga naapectusan ka kadumihan nila sila pa ang matapang. tingnan nyo nangyari sa melamine scare sa bird flue wala nga rn silang sinabi na news block out lang sa atin lang naman masyado na sesensatinalize kasi kaya nila tayo api-apihin period. hope someday maging super power din ang pinas kahit sa pangarap na lang.
We have the same views on this incident. I can't help but feel disappointed on both PNP and media. Imagine, he was asking to be reinstated and yet they deferred? He wasn't even asking for money or any political change. How hard it is to give? And even if they do give it, they could always charge him with criminal case. I really couldn't see what strategy the PNP was doing? and let's face it, media men are sometimes really too much. stop using your job as a defense to shield your mistakes.
f*cking policemen hanggang porma lang walang binabat pwe!
Well, you've said it all..
to the anonymous who commented earlier (August 24, 2010 3:27 AM)..
please don't generalize Filipinos..
it is just one incident and it doesn't happen all the time.. I wanna tell you, We're not all like Mendoza.. Filipinos are not all criminals like you said..
Of course, We also agree that there is incompetence in our own government.. We admit that policemen and the Media worsen the scenario.. We know that they should have done something better not to let your relatives die.. We understand what you feel..
But still, it's not fair saying those things to us.. it's not fair telling that to ALL Filipinos..
it's not fair kicking our fellow Filipinos from your country just because of what happened.. you know that OFWs are working for you, serving you right and treating you like our own family..
I'm just asking for your fair judgment on us.. Please do not mistreat us..
I really believe that the media is as much to blame as the pnp. The way they feasted on the incident didn't help one bit. They could have thought about how their coverage would agitate and even give the hostage-taker a means to keep tabs on what's going on outside the bus. For goodness' sake, it was a tactical operation. They did not need to give a blow-by-blow account of what happened. It was not helpful at all. The media should police their own ranks and think about how in more ways than one, they have contributed to the deaths of those tourists.
As for the PNP, it's a shame... They've received every possible blow they could get from the world. Their mishandling of the situation is too embarassing for the Philippines... That should be a wake up call to for them to step up and do better.
“We are just doing our jobs.”
yes, this would probably the media's answer...
but a question for the media....
Your jobs or people's lives???
Hoy kung sino kamang chinese ka na lumalait saming mga PILIPINO!! PI ka!!
Yes you have right to be shame and be angry.. but to accuse us Pilipino a criminal!!FU** you..
Mahirap man kami Pero hindi kami kriminal...
Yang ang hirap sa mga tao eh.. madali mang husga ng kapwa!!tayong lahat ay walang karapatang mang husga..Oo tama Media the Police they have a big mistake!! But I have only one question..YOU!!!Did you do a thing to stop that damn incident!!waladiba!!Putek!!...
We Pilipino has a good hearth where not what you thinking right now!So Please don't Judge by the eyes.. But judge by the hearth...
sa totoo lang isa lng nmn ang propblema satin, bopol na mga pulis at at ang maagsamantalang media, na makakuha lang ng mataas na ratings at mauna lng sa coverage eh wal nang pakialalm kahit ano pa gn consequences. kay mendoza nmn. kung ako tatanungin hindi ko rin ibibigay demand nya babarilin ko after the first 3 hours of the negotiation na walang progress. bakit mo ibabalik sa serbisyo and isang puis na magnanakaw, extortionista at wala nmn nagawa.. mag nanakaw lng ulit yan. lets put it this way, hindi mo sinhunod ung code of conduct nio sa trabaho and then suddenly tinanggal ka ano gusto mo i promote ka pa sa kagaguhan mo.. dapt lng tlga sa kanya ang matngal or mamatay as well
Akala ko naman, coordinated ang Media and Police in handling the operations kasi ang yabang pa natin eh... Live coverage pa!..... 'dank!
puro kasi corruption ang nasaisip ng mga leader ng kapulisan at ibang mga leader natin.. SWAT Special Weapons and Tactics ba meaning nun? eh sa nakikita kong special weapon dun yung maso at lumang lubid at yung tactics na panis.. kawawang mga pulis/swat.. pambabae at pangungutong lang talaga magaling ang ibang mga pulis sa pinas..
Ang weak ng mga SWAT Teams. Walang Strategy at takot maamtay parang bakla. Tsk.
Kasalanan ni Rolando Mendoza.
Pero may shortcomings din naman ang police, politicians, at media.
To the Chinese: please stop generalizing. You wouldn't like to be called what you're calling the Filipinos, isn't it?
Nobody wished for this incident to happen. It was just a matter of tragedy. Coincidentally, the Chinese tourist bus was the one that Mendoza spotted.
Something's going on inside the PNP, heads must roll, puro pa-pogi points lang ang ginagawa,its in the rank in file, its about time para ungkatin kung ano ang conspiracy na ginagawa, the reason why that mad person did a gruesome act as his last resort, it does matter why the media wasn't able to get an interview with the hostage taker kasi may pumigil para ma-expose ang corruption..
Ok. I would like to share my take on this tragic event. First, I am a Hong Kong citizen. Yes. Many citizens of Hong Kong are sadden and angered by the incompetence of the police force in the attempted rescue during the hostage event, resulted in 9 Hong Kong tourists dead. They also angered by the way the Philippine government was smiling when commenting the hostage outcome on TV, and the fact that many Filipinos are taking pictures on the very spot treating it as a sightseeing place further worsen the relationship of Hong Kong people and Filipinos workers here. For now, I think the Philippine government should really place a few restrictions such as disallowing any people from entering the shooting area for picture taking and measures to improve the overall police performances during such crisis and prevent any further event like this from happening. I know no amount of tears and blaming would bring back the dead. However, this is not the time to backlash against each others, especially during this delicate time. This whole fiasco is turning into a worldwide flaming topic and racism that further damage the already strained relationships among the countries and people. We should, for now just send condolences to the victims and pray for the dead for a better afterlife and let this tragedy subside...
Puro kasi porma. Puro yabang. Media ganon din puro sarili iniisip nila kung sino ang unang makapaghayag ng balita. Tapos ang dami pang USISERO! Parang may maitutulong naman sila. Ngayon galit na ang mga Chinese bro and sis ko. Sad but true. Tapos may kumakalat pang "picture time with the bus" ano ba naman yan.
@Jodney,
Just to clarify everything, the Filipino people are also mourning for this very unfortunate events. Filipinos are not all criminals. But just like any other countries, there are those who kill the innocent people.
This is highly publicized because of the so-called tourists were the victims. But crimes like killings, hostage taking, and all other things happen all around the globe everyday.
The Filipinos were never happy on this matter especially that we have maintained good foreign relations all through out our history. We don't even have a history of aggression to other countries.
The only thing that's lacking though is a better training and better equipments of our police force.
Capt.Mendoza isa sa top 10 most outstanding policemen sa ating bansa..sa tingin nyo gagawa ba sya ng ganun kung wala dahilan hndi sira ulo nya kasi hndi ka hihirangan ng ganun parangal.nadismis sya sa trabho bilang isang pulis bkit?kasi misconduct policeman kung nagawa sya nang kasalanan sa batas di nagtago nalng sya sa kahihiyan at hindi na gumawa ng isa pang kmabigat na kasalanan pero hindi eh ginawa nya to kasi gusto nya malinis ang kanyang magandang pangalan...hndi na sana hahantong pa sa ganito kung dinaan sa magandang usapan at pinagbigayan ang hostage taker kasi buhay ang nakasalalay dito...PAti pangulo sinisi nrn kung gugustohin nga ni PNOY na sya nalang nahostage ginawa na nya para lng hindi maapektohan ang buong bansa...magtiwla naman sana tayo sa presindente ntin sya lang ang susi para malutas laht ng ito at mabago ang imahe ng ating bansa...
yes,... and better, much better , LEADERSHIP!
the police (or should i say the head or chief) failed to control the situation, media is to balme also kasi alam naman nila na mali yung ginagawa nila but for the sake of scoops, haay! stupid talaga yung move ng police swat(swat nga b mga yun?) madaming mali and somebody should be responsible for it...for p-noy, masyado ka yata natutok sa pagtugis sa mga corrupt and totally forgot that there are other things to take care of, tama na muna kasi pagpapapogi at nanalo ka naman na...this is really very unfortunate...so disappointing...
@Vince,
Yes. I agree with you Vince.
I know the fact that many Filipinos are not very happy with the outcome. I have seen many Filipinos apologizing to the victim families and attending the funeral ceremony(sort of) at the spot in the news.
This particular event for example has caused a worldwide audiences in criticizing the stupidity and stubbornness of the police force, which resulted in many hatred and generalization of all Filipinos. It is just human nature unfortunately, sad but the truth is that human tent to invoke drastic emotions and feelings towards certain things and event...
As you may have heard, there are now rumors that a few Filipinos workers/maids in Hong Kong being fired due to this tragedy... At this point, I would like to apologize to any Filipinos workers/maid who are affected by this event.
Also, the fact that there have been confirmed reports on the two victims of the Chinese appeared to have Canadian passport (Canadian-Chinese) sparked a few controversies between the Chinese, the Canadian and the dual citizenships issue.
As you can see, this is going in a cascading effect and will definitely led to other controversies and serious issues if it is not done right...
@Johney
Yes... it's really unfortunate for the Filipinos.This is really one of the most stupid acts by unsatisfied individuals that affected the whole nation.
And yes, I have heard that there are already some Filipino OFW's that were fired due to what happened. I just hope that my sister in law who is also working there will not be much affected.
Mag resign ka na PNOY! weak ka sa pagdedesisyon, tapos kung kailan tapos na ang insidente saka ka magpapadala ng high-level delegation... dapat ginawa mo yun habang may negosasyon pa.
Mag-resign ka na! Hindi ikaw ang binoto ko kasi alam ko mahina ka pero nanalo ka (at wala na ako magagawa), at hindi mo pinatunayan ang kakayahan mo! Mahiya ka!
STATEMENT
of
His Excellency BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines
On the hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand
[August 23, 2010]
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.
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