Hostage Fiasco "Culprits" to be Charged

The Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) findings on the bloody August 23 hostage-taking that caused the death of eight Chinese and a former cop hostage-taker is out.

IIRC recommended the filing of appropriate charged against the following:

1. Police Chief Jesus Versoza (Ret.)

2. Alfredo Lim – Manila Mayor

3. Isko Moreno – Manila Vice Mayor

4. Rico Puno – Interior Undersecretary

5. Merceditas Gutierrez – Ombudsman

6. Leocadio Santiago – Director, National Capital Region Police

7. Rodolfo Magtibay – Manila Police District Chief

8. Orlando Yebra, Jr. – Police Superintendent

9. Chief negotiator, the head of SWAT among others
10. Jake Maderazo - Radio Station Manager

Charges are also recommended against TV anchors Erwin Tulfo, Mike Rogas and “three of the networks” probably ABS-CBN, GMA-7 and TV-5.

Again, writing as a non-lawyer, what appropriate charges will be slapped against the individuals mentioned? How can the court prove beyond reasonable doubt that the high government and police personalities; journalists and TV stations are guilty?  Guilty of what?

On the other hand, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) says in protest “To equate these (journalists’ and media’s) lapses in judgment with criminal liability and haling journalists to court and threatening them with imprisonment, are making media the scapegoat for what essentially was government incompetence on all levels.”

They are not scapegoats. Their lapses contributed immensely in the failure of the hostage rescue attempt.   That cannot be discounted. From the very start the press's and journalists'  irresponsibility and recklessness in covering the drama  are partly to be blamed as factors of the bloodbath. Since members of the fourth estate admitted their lapses, they know better than us that they too are not indispensable in the current government. It is inappropriate to assume, if the charges prosper, that freedom of the press is at stake or that media practitioners are harassed when the government is simply doing its job. 

If charges in court prosper against the mentioned, do we believe that there will be a fair trial? I am not saying that the courts are not fair but how many big fishes were convicted and ordered to pay for their crimes?

Your answer is as good as mine. -30-

The Media In The Hostage Drama

Before everything break into hell, the fury of the agitated Mendoza worsened when he saw his police brother manhandled like a “pig” from the bus TV. The exchange of dialogues between hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza and the press represented by Michael Rogas and Erwin Tulfo confirms that.

Already enraged in the impossibility of his reinstatement to the police force, he is believed to have started shooting his hostages when his brother “who has nothing to do with the incident” was in police custody. Mendoza, the transcript says, also saw SWATs and snipers surrounding the bus. Felt threatened, he asked that they move back. In many instances we read that he threatened to kill his hostages if . . . and a lot of ifs.

The enemy, able to see the location of snipers going after him implies poor training of the officers. Nothing is simpler than that.

What was wrong when all of the demands were granted instead of the horror and death of the foreigners who were here for a visit? Mendoza could have come to his senses, calmed down and end the story of the day. That does not necessarily mean that had he survived, he would not be charged with hostage taking or endangering the lives of the innocent. The probability of his conviction on that ground was very probable, anyway. Other charges such as illegal possession of firearms, insubordination and usurpation of power were also possible.

The police say that they arrested the other Mendoza believing that he was in cahoots with his brother inside the bus. But how could that be proven on the spot? What if Gregorio was there to pacify his brother? Rolando said many times that they have to release his brother or else --- again the threat; he would finish all of his hostages.

In that fiasco, is the press totally to be blamed?

I don’t think so.

Note how Rogas and Tulfo did their best to appease the deranged former police captain. The two radio personalities, one on the scene and the other in the studio played the role of a negotiator between Mendoza and the police by relaying the messages of the former to the latter and possibly vice versa. Take note the times when the broadcast journalists cajoled Mendoza to “take it easy”.

What was entirely wrong was the live TV and radio broadcast of the drama where Mendoza was tracking everything: SWAT, police and sniper movements right before his very eyes. The police should have ordered the media to stop their live coverage or as I said before, they should have scrambled the TV and radio signals of the bus. Gregorio who might have been a peace maker should have been sequestered beyond the camera range for questioning.

Some media advocates say that informing the public is their primary job. I agree with that but they should have exercised prudence when at stake were the lives of innocent foreigners. Could the police have stopped their coverage? I believe so after invoking the police power of the state in safeguarding the security and protection of lives and properties.

Now there are moves in restructuring media protocol when covering between life and death events. After the police is exposed as poorly trained and meagerly equipped, the government is in haste to look for solutions.

Why did the government wait for a disaster before doing its job? -30-

“Flag On Casket Irks China”

Thus runs a headline from one of the major dailies. The Chinese government protested:

“Television reports showed that Rolando Mendoza, the cold-blooded hostage-taker, was laid in his house in a coffin draped in the Philippine national flag. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines condemns the brutality of the criminal and expresses its strong indignation over this irritating act . . . The person who deserves a national flag at the funeral should be someone of heroism, decency and integrity, not someone who inflicts atrocity on innocent lives. This is nothing but a smear on the dignity of the Philippine national flag.”

The Chinese official statement is candid and true that the draping of a flag on a casket is reserved for heroes and citizens who lived an exemplary and honorable life.

(At this point, may I remember my hero Muelmar Magallanes, an 18 year-old boy. At the height of typhoon Ondoy he went out from his modest home and patrolled the flooded streets of Manila and saved 30 lives. He died while working in the flood waters doing his search and rescue effort but I am frustrated that his casket was not draped with a Philippine flag. He was interred somewhere instead of the Libingan ng Mga Bayani [Hero’s Cemetery]).

The news story tells instances of finger pointing and rationalizations about the flag-draping issue. Mendoza, a decorated but sacked police officer is believed to be responsible for the killing of eight Chinese tourists in the now famous massacre at the park. In fairness to Mendoza before falling from grace, his feats are commended. Adulations and decorations that made him the talk of his department turned instantly into dust when he hijacked a tourist bus loaded with foreign nationals that ended in tragedy. How could a police officer do the unthinkable?

As a result of the crime of one man, our diplomatic relations with China is deteriorating rapidly but I am optimistic that when heads cool off, everything will be back to normal. All of a sudden as of this writing, our high profile delegation to mainland China and its Hongkong territory is momentarily unwelcome. Five hundred Chinese flights coming to the country were canceled; a high ranking Chinese premiere’s visit is put on hold indefinitely; our consulate in the former British territory is bombarded with protests. Two Chinese Magsaysay awardees from the mainland are not coming for the ceremony.  Hongkong authorities want to participate in the hostage-taking investigation while the Philippines invoked its right of sovereignty. Here and around the world, questions and condemnations are rife on our police capabilities and government efficiency. Without pun intended, the world is laughing at us.

Everything is falling apart between us and the Chinese.

The root of all of these is caused by a single person and certainly, he does not deserve a flag on his casket or any farewell honor. His remains do not even deserve a police uniform. He did evil to his country, compatriots and the innocent who happen to be foreign nationals who came and pay a visit to our country and us.

It is time that we review our knowledge in observing flag protocol. The flag, we were taught when we were in the elementary grades, is the symbol of our country and her people. In it rests the history of the country and our struggles etched with our sweat, blood and tears.

What an insult to our heroes and our dignity as a nation to see a flag draped on the coffin of a man who put this country into shame and now the subject of hatred!

We are in a difficult time. The country must quickly recover from where it fell. It’s time to set aside political differences, join hands even for a moment and rally behind our president and the government. Each of us has a role to play to make this government stronger in this time of need. We must not forget that we are a people under one flag which all of us must honor and respect. -30-

After the Hostage Drama: Time to Move On

The country is suffering from embarrassment and condemnation from the international community especially from the Chinese in Hongkong because of the botched hostage rescue attempt. We read how angry the Hongkong people are and we understand. Nevertheless, it is my personal opinion that our authorities  had great courage; did their best in ending the crisis successfully but their best was not enough due to lack of training and equipments.

The police knew that at the time of the crisis, through CNN and BBC hook up, the world was watching them. There is no reason to believe that they were there to stage a show but to restore order. But again, their efforts were not enough simply because of training deficiency, lack of modern weapons, communications and other equipments. Again, make no mistake that they did their best although that was not enough.

As the country is humiliated, I believe that it is time for us to rally behind the president and the Filipino nation. We bond together, stand up and move on without condoning the manner of the rescue operation. Under pressure from all sides, Pres. Noynoy Aquino is doing his best to iron out soured diplomatic issues with China brewed by the recent tragedy. The ruing Philippines has admitted the blunders and China knows that. In their moments of grief and anger, may God and Buddha grant them peace and heal their hearts.

We are so sorry.

Believing that good can spring up from bad, the pointless lose of lives at the Park gives the police force the necessary time to reinvent itself and ponder where they failed and what must be overhauled.

It is too bad that our country cannot match the police equipments of our neighbors here in Asia. Now that we learned a lesson the hard way, hopefully the government finds money to purchase top of the line gadgets. Take note that the raiding police had no tear gas masks. Their bulletproof vests and helmet looked obsolete. Even with M-16 and automatic guns, the assaulting SWAT team compared with foreign SWATs was lightly armed. They did not have a ladder --- they used a vehicle in opening the emergency exit. Despite all of these, Filipinos, known for their bravery in time of war, did the best they can afford.

Now is the time for our police to undergo extensive training in rescue operations. They badly need training from the experts perhaps from the Israelis who are famous with their assault and defense capabilities vis-à-vis terrorist activities. And yes, our cops must be re-indoctrinated with the ideals of protecting the nation, its citizens and foreign visitors.

The Chinese, here in the country as early as pre-Spanish times, knows our hospitality. We have co-existed with them for centuries and there is no reason that we coexist now with tantrums because of an isolated case.

It’s time to move on and a time to act! -30-

Philippine Hostage Drama Part II

The Philippine hostage drama that ended in tragedy has caught the attention of the world. My fears that the government forces have problems with their assault capabilities and tactics as mentioned in the previous entry of this blog came true.  Now, let met include modern weapons and communications equipment they lacked.  I hit the bull's eye!

As the hostage crisis developed, the media put on live broadcast via television and radio what was going on in the scene. That gave Mendoza, the hostage-taker, a somewhat upper hand in momentarily evading the hale of bullets or surprise assault as he was watching the unfolding of events from the internal TV of the bus.

My previous entry in this blog failed to mention that the stage I was talking about was the time frame when the SWAT team started to do their job after efforts to end the stand off  peacefully were futile. The operation could have lasted from 10 to 15 minutes after roughly 11 hours and 45 minutes since the stand off started.

In that span of time, what happened?

Behind the scene we don’t know what really happened although I believe that the Department of Foreign Affairs was in contact with their Chinese counterpart.  I wonder if the police sent a psychiatrist-negotiator  to deal with Mendoza and since the crisis ended in tragedy,  their tactical know how is doubted. What is gray is the length of time the police needed before they were convinced that the belligerent Mendoza did not like to be appeased and looked determined to finish off his hostages one at a time.

An hour of negotiation or even less could have been enough before the raiding team stormed the bus. Casualties might have been lesser although nothing is sure in a critical situation like that.

The media is partly to be blamed for the unhappy ending. We understand their role to inform the public with current events but the electronic gadgets of the bus should have been scrambled to keep the suspect guessing  and let the police operation go uncompromized.  The live broadcast  which the police did not stop endangered more the lives of the hostages.

Did Mendoza act alone? If not, did somebody order him to do it after he was given ample amount of money? But why the Chinese from Hongkong were the target? Where and how did he get his weapon?

We’ll wait and see the result of the investigation. Although somewhere, there were blunders, I still believe that the police did the right thing for “a number of dead is a lot better than “all dead”. -30-

(See Part I of the blog entry below.  -COR INVICTUS)

Philippine Hostage Drama Part I

The Chinese from Hongkong came over as friends to see  us and the country. It is too bad that some of them cannot go back home alive and share their travel logs to their loved ones.  I regret sincerely for that. A lot of my friends flooded my e-mail with questions on how I assess the incident. With one reply to them all I said that  my opinion is here in QUOD DIXIT DIXIT.

I believe that the government did the right thing in eliminating the multi-awarded former cop Rolando Mendoza although there might have been some problems on the capabilities of the assaulting team and  their tactics.  As a decorated officer, he has all the necessary training including marksmanship. Armed with an M-16 an a seemingly bladed weapon,  his threat “I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if . . .” must not be taken lightly. In fact, per the bus driver, the dismissed cop killed most of his hostages. It would be stupid to assume that he was just kidding in his threat that he would kill them all. He already started killing to start with.

What if Mendoza killed all of the Chinese in the bus before he was finally taken down? I am glad that the situation did not end like that.

Although I agree with the government decision in using its resources to end the hostage crisis, I  am so sorry that there are collateral damages in the process of restoring order.

Mendoza was surrounded by a 30-60 strong SWAT team and  snipers. As a former cop, he knew what his former comrades, now his enemies, can do. Despite that, as proven by the events,  he was determined to execute his saber-rattling plan. When the police was pushed back to the wall after a 30-minute negotiation extension was refused, the police did not have much time to reconstruct their plans on how to end the  stand off and they might have even run out of option other than to use force. The drama ended when Mendoza was hit in the head by an able sniper.

If asked what could have been done better based from what I saw  from live TV broadcast, the police  had the option to position their top snipers several meters directly from the bus door and from all sides of the bus for any eventuality. They could have used tactics to persuade the hostage-taker to release one more hostages bearing his notes of demand before the  available sniper squeezed the trigger.  Better still if possible, police negotiators should have tried to persuade Mendoza to receive a "special" cell phone from them equipped with a powerful explosive  with a remote control so that "he can talk directly to whoever he wanted to; the President included."  But again,  the situation could have been very critical that looking for "better" options  was not an option. Mendoza was not an ordinary hostage-taker.  He was one of the best officers and understandably had a SWAT training.  Last but not least, how I wish that the police officers had modern weapons and communication system for a more lethal and simultaneous assault from every direction of the bus to disorient the suspect and give him less time to react defensively or offensively.

I hope that the media did not air the incident live to give Mendoza a bird's eye view on what was going on outside.  The tourist bus might been equipped with TV screens and a radio.

I know that such recommendations are easier to say than to be done. What must be noted are the sequences of the events and how critical they were. 

It is not fair to presume that the police maneuver was not precise because I was not at the scene. Based from footages, chronology of events and the accuracy of what actually went on were impossible to determine.   If there was a mistake, it could have been in the execution of the plan to end the hostage crisis.  However, there was no option better than what was done could have been chosen. It was not possible for their sniper to aim his rifle when the sight of the target  had poor visibility.  The bus is equipped with drapes.

Let the experts do the investigation and reconstruct how the crime unfolded; what could have been done better; where the mistakes were and what lessons were learned if similar situations are encountered again.

In a thriller like that as in the “Raid on Entebbe”, officers arrive at a split-second decision to save hostages. In the case of Mendoza that put the Philippines in global headlines, I am sure the hostages  were  not the target of the police but in their race against time before a disaster happens; they took their chance and thus the drama ended that way.

It is unfortunate that the Chinese government has warned its citizens to refrain from coming over to our country because of the incident and I don’t blame them for that. Other nationalities familiar with the  news planning to come over should have started asking for their ticket refund. We lose some income from the tourism industry but we should live by it.  If the same incident happened in the US, Britain or Russia and even in China, I am quite positive that their security forces would have done what we did.

A number of dead is a lot better than “all dead”. -30-

(This was written immediately after the hostage fiasco. See Part II of the blog entry on top.  -COR INVICTUS)