THE HOSTAGE TRAGEDY

August 23, 2010 is one very unfortunate day among all Filipinos and the entire nation. At around mid-morning, former senior police inspector ROLANDO MENDOZA, 55 years old, hostaged a tourist bus with around 16 Hong Kong tourists on board, on their way at the Manila Ocean Park, in Intramuros Manila. It was a long journey for the hostages, which ended tragically, and claimed the lives of 10 people, including the 9 hostages, and the hostage taker himself.
The scenario was covered live by practically all the television networks, and people all over the world watched and viewed the unfortunate incident. The unfortunate ending of the hostage taking was caused by several factors....the police force, the media, and the government.
1. The SWAT force and the PNP lacked in expertise, and equipment, and treated the hostage taking very poorly. One perfect example was when they used ropes instead of cables or some much heavier equipment to pull out the door of the bus.
2. Media was all over the place, and they had a blow by blow account of what was happening, and even broadcasted the measures the SWAT and PNP forces were delivering against the hostage taker, which he himself could see and monitor on the tv screen inside the bus.
3. The mistake of the PNP in handling the hostake taker's brother and relatives, in which they treated his relatives badly, and apprehended them, to the dismay of the hostake taker, which obviously, he was able to watch on television.
4. The government's inability to handle the negotiations properly, and treating it as just an isolated case.
5. The statement of the secretary of tourism Alberto Lim, in saying that the hostake taking incident was just an ordinary situation, and a minor one. This was very much uncalled for.
6. The SWAT and PNP's belief of assuming that all the hostages were already dead, before they even attacked the hostage taker.
7. The lack of security within the hostage taking area, where civilians were all over the place, which turned out to be a circus.