Tragic Hostage Taking of Hong Kong Nationals in Manila

In the evening of Aug 24, I watched the live coverage of a hostage crisis in Manila. It’s like what you see in the action movies because you could feel the suspense when the reporter said their experiences there but the big difference is it is really happening and it ended in tragedy. A disgruntled former decorated Police Officer named Rolando del Rosario Mendoza seized a bus with 26 passengers mostly Chinese nationals from Hong Kong during their last day here in the Philippines in his desperate attempt to be reinstated in his job. He thinks that he is wrongly accused of a crime that ended his career in the Police force and resorted to hostage taking to get back his job.

I think what really is horrifying is how the Police force handled the incident. The only thing that triggered the already angry former policeman is when he saw the way the police had arrested his brother and his relatives who were in the vicinity. It is the reason why he snapped and shot and killed his hostages. We could only regret what had happened. I think the Filipino Government should learn from this incident because so many lives could have been saved if the incident could have been handled differently. I even felt pity for the way the authorities had arrested his relative, how much more if they were my kin?

I think it would have been different if the authorities could have at least waited until the negotiations are over before they arrested his brother who was also a policeman. I also hope that someone who have seen the incident on TV and who is authorized to make the call would have called the officer in charge to stop the arrest. I also think that it could have been different if the media was not airing what happened during that time because the hostage taker knows what is happening outside the bus by just watching the TV. I also hope that the policemen in the area could have proper coordination with each other and that they could have the proper operating procedure in handling that kind of incident. So many lives lost I only hope and pray that the Filipino Government will learn from this experience and must make an effort to correct the mistakes that clearly confirm our incompetence.