What went wrong?
Summary. August 23rd, Monday turned the usually lazy start of the business week into a tragic hostage case that shocked the world. Ex-policeman Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza hitched on a tourist bus mainly of Hong Kong nationals and 3 Filipinos. He took them as hostages for more than 10 hours, and what seemed to be a calm hijacking ended disastrously with 9 people dead: 8 were Hong Kong nationals, and the hostage taker.
Who is the blame? Why did it end like that?
OPINION # 1. To the hostage taker (well, maybe not ‘coz he’s dead), for the reason that this all happened because of you in the first place, you should have taken a local bus instead. I’m sorry if this sounded harsh to my fellow Filipinos, but us solely being victims is definitely a lot better than how it actually ended. It would be less globally alarming, less ingloriously shameful, and maybe more helpful if he kidnapped a bus load of local goons.
OPINION # 2. The SWAT didn’t see it coming. They were unprepared, they lack training and equipments, and most importantly they don’t have a direction. To PNP and authority, what do we do to millions or billions of pesos in funds annually apart from buying solid Narra bludgeon worth perhaps 100,000 pesos each?
OPINION # 3. More higher authority. Where were you? The highest official (if I’m right) reported to have contact with the suspect is Vice Mayor Moreno of Manila when he delivered the letter from the Ombudsman. I’m not discriminating against Moreno, but with all due respect, do you have any experience in negotiating with criminals? As far as I remember, you were mostly famous in That’s Entertainment, Thursday group according to my friend.
THE DEMANDS. Rewind to the demand of the suspect, Ex-cop hostage-taker Mendoza wished to be reinstated in office. He was dismissed due to drug-related cases and money extortion charged against him in 2008. He is said to be one of the best, and among the top 10 police in the whole country.
The suspect’s demand reached the Ombudsman, to which she ordered and promised a thorough review of his case and conclusion within 10 days, but she can’t reinstate him. It is out of the question. Mendoza’s demand was to be reinstated in the very same day of the hijacking. He originally planned to finish the hostage drama at around 3PM Monday afternoon, and promised not to hurt anyone if his demands were met.
OPINION # 4. Authorities again. Vice-mayor Moreno upon delivering the message from Ombudsman said to the media that the letter is indeed promising. He even commented that as soon as the hostage taker read it, his mind would be cleared. Although he didn’t mentioned exactly what kind of clarity it would be. There were reports that Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, a former top policeman himself was around the area. Being a renowned police known for his presence in encounters, why is he missing in action?
To the most powerful man in the country, Philippine President Noynoy Aquino. Seated barely a hundred days in office, there were no media reports about him until the hostage drama is finished leaving 9 people dead. Palace officials said he was at a closed door meeting most of Monday night. I say open the goddamned door.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang was trying to contact the President, and he was unable to talk to him until the next day, Tuesday. Aquino confided that apart from the hostage taking, he has other things on his plate like the dengue situation, and some budgeting for 2011. Communications Development Secretary Ricky Carandang said President Aquino also wanted to know the details of the incident before he speak to Tsang. Carandang said this was the reason the President did not immediately speak before the media because he wanted to first determine what exactly were the facts on the ground.
Well, Mr. President, let me tell you the facts on the ground. It would only take a minute or two to get hold of the latest information if and only if you have a better understanding of prioritization. I’m not very certain in Philippine local TV, but from where I am, even GMA Pinoy TV extended the airtime of news program 24 Oras, and completely eliminated Eat Bulaga from its normal time (a noontime show) to give way to recent happenings in the hostage case. You should have gotten out of that closed room meeting, stopped discussing the 2011 budget, and save the dengue thing for other time. Trust me, the mosquitoes can wait.
Yesterday, a day after the incident, Aquino was in the hostage vicinity. Today, Aquino declared as the National Day of Mourning in remembrance to lives lost. It’s very sad he has to deal with this kind of blow very early on his presidential career. I’m NOT blaming the president for what happened. Well, I’m not blaming him entirely. All the past administrations has contributed to the quality of current administration we have, and it is very unfortunate for Aquino to face this isolated case. Still, I have to mention that I’m in shock to see footages of interviews with the president bearing a lovely smirk on his face when asked about the tragedy. What was he thinking? Is he suffering from some form of facial disorder? Enlighten me.
FALSE HOPE. As reported by the survivors and driver, Mendoza was mostly calm from the very start. He got on the bus around 9ish in the morning of Monday, and then announced that they will be held as captives. Mendoza wanted to relay messages to NCRPO, so he asked the tour guide to assist an old lady with LBM to go out of the bus, and then call the police. Manila police responded quick, and about half past 9AM, negotiations started. Mendoza asked to have a folder of documents be delivered to Department of Justice, and the Ombudsman. NCRPO cooperated, resulting to an adult and 3 children being released.
At a point that the passengers might be hungry, Mendoza requested for food. At this time, he released his 7th captive. It was reported that Mendoza did not eat for the reason that he might defecate. Moments later, Mendoza released another hostage (the 8th) even without the negotiators asking for the release of any. A surviving Hong Kong lady pointed out to the media that Mendoza didn’t plan to hurt anyone. He only changed when the negotiations failed, and apparently upon witnessing how his family members were treated.
TRIGGER. Survivors even claimed that the suspect was a man on a crusade. He was agitated mostly by how the negotiations turned about and upon reading the letter from the Ombudsman. Along with other officers, Mendoza’s younger brother, SPO2 Mendoza (also a police), was allowed to get in the bus only after he was disarmed. He told his brother to extend the deadline of 3PM, and to surrender because his actions would lead to nowhere. I suppose SPO2 Mendoza has been to the bus several times, and upon leaving in one occasion, the younger SPO2 Mendoza reportedly told his brother that his service firearms weren’t returned yet. At this point, the suspect was not pleased.
If you think about it, although his case is promised to be given review by the Ombudsman, the bottomline is, his demands weren’t actually met. Reacting to this, Mendoza said that the letter is garbage and that that is not what he bargained for. According to the bus driver, a Filipino who managed to escape through the windows, Mendoza turned more into rampant fury upon witnessing his family members, especially his brother arrested by the police as accessory to the crime (There’s a television set, radio, and phoneline inside the bus). Then, he started firing at the back of the bus, and as the driver released his handcuff and ran away, he was shouting, “He killed them all”.
ACTIONS. Reportedly about 200 members of SWAT stormed the bus as soon the driver proclaimed Mendoza has been killing, and there was still continuous firing. Snipers were positioned. They tried to open the bus door, smashed windows in front, at the back, and on the sides, appearing really undetermined from which side to start attacking. They threw rocks that humorously bounce back, use a vehicle tow to haul the front door only to find out that the cord would snap. In one scene, the massive metal hammer used to crush the front window was even tossed inside.
The SWAT finally decided it is best to attack from behind, Mendoza was forced to move in front of the bus, where a sniper headshot him.
OPINION # 5. MEDIA. I would have to say that the media, long been wrongly seen as a higly competitive business, contributed a lot to the failure of the hostage drama. Everyone wanted to be in the limelight, who gets the premiere coverage, who gets the closest camera angle, or who interviewed this important figure. The culprit has access to radio, TV, and phoneline inside the bus, so he is fully aware to whatever the media is reporting. It’s high time that mediamen review their responsiblities as reporters of information to the mass. It’s not just about documenting current events as long as we stick to deliver the truth. There has to be a clear boundary. Life is at stake, and a human life is much more than some oath or duty of relaying the truth to the public.
OPINION # 6. MASS. Myrids of people have been reported to be around the vicinity, and most of them were even there ahead of any ambulances. They are not helpful in any way. They are just added stress. Today, a bill was filed in the senate prohibiting civilians to go beyond police cordon, or be fined up to P3,000 and jailed up to 6 months. This is a neat bill, but it would have been more impressive if the fine is P30,000 and the jail is at least 6 months. Filipinos are naturally stubborn, and only a stricter rule and firm implementation of would solve this.
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Having lived in Hong Kong for more than 2 years, I personally know that Hong Kong people are nationalist. More significantly, they are in a way, proud people. Hong Kong is a pleasing cosmopolitan state, and it is extremely safe by my own standard. Having something like this happening to its people is intolerably a big deal. I could only wish enough fortune for more than 150,000 Filipino individuals living and working in the region. To be honest, I will not be surprised if our fellow Filipinos (in Hong Kong) completely unconnected to the hostage case will take the toll for what had happened.
Today, former President Joseph Estrada cancelled his supposed leisure trip to Hong Kong this weekend. Do not ask me why.
There is no single person, unit, or decision to blame for what happened. Every single thing and factor when added together gives its effect and resulted to this outcome. This tragedy should be enough to call for a change, to devise better rules and regulations, to standardize the use of media, to appoint better authority to take in charge, to invest in more advance military weapons.
A very important lesson is that in cases like this, we should not underestimate. The drama took more than 10 hours to finish, and I guess some people took it too lightly. They might be right in prolonging the negotiation to minimize the casualties, and the fact that Mendoza has been releasing his captives, talking openly to the media and negotiators, his actions in the end were unforeseen. The authority should have exercised better judgment, and have been more sensitive towards the hostage taker. He was a policeman, and the negotiators were mostly policemen. They have something in common, and if there’s a personality that would understand Mendoza most, that would be that of the people coming from the same profession he once had. I’m not defending Mendoza because his actions don’t deserve any but to be dismissed in service as a police is demoralizing, how much more do you think it is for someone who is considered to be greatest? The authority should have known this and take into account, yet they acted in complete opposite. They arrested Mendoza’s brother without any tangible evidence, and all of this is in national live broadcast.
That is exactly what committed the crime.
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