THE TRAGIC KIDNAPPING AT RIZAL PARK

The kidnapping incident by a disgruntled Filipino policeman at Rizal Park, Manila last August 22, 2010, Monday, where eight Hongkong tourist nationals got killed elicited so much anger and questions from the respected families of the injured and the deceased as well as from the countries of their origin.

A lot of questions had been raised from many people as well as from the various sectors of society as to why such a tragic incident was permitted to happen in the heart of the city of Manila. In the first place, a lot of anger has been directed to the Philippine government, for their inefficiency and for their lack of coordinated supervision in handling the case. But a lot of the blame and finger pointing were directed to the manila national police who displayed a lack of training especially among the swat team members who stormed the kidnapped bus, after the negotiations failed, and which resulted in the tragic death of the eight Hongkong tourist nationals.

The question is: Was there any way in which the tragic incident could have been prevented? A British expert on terrorism made some very revealing observation about this incident. The British expert pointed out some of the obvious lapses made by the manila national police who were involved in the negotiation as well as on the assaulting team operation. This British terrorism expert mentioned that such a tragic incident could have been prevented if: the government negotiators gave in to Mr. Mendoza's demand in the first place, that he be re-instated to his job and position. Recall that Mr. Mendoza, the disgruntled policeman who hijacked the tourist bus, demanded that he be re-instated into his former position and into active duty. According to the report, Mr. Mendoza had been sacked from his job and position in the police force a year before for alleged distortion, grave threat and robbery cases. Now he wanted to have his job and position back. He claimed that he had been unfairly treated and discharged. According to the British terrorism expert, granted that the government gave in to Mr. Mendoza's demand, in reality, his agreement with the government would have had no legal bearing whatsoever because it was solicited and accomplished under duress. Hence, the government could have said "yes" to Mendoza's demand, but had no binding obligation to follow the agreement afterwards. As we all know, any kind of agreement secured under duress has no legal or binding obligations whatsoever. Second, in you tube video, you can see that during the process of negotiations, there were two individuals (I assumed they were government negotiators) who were talking with Mr. Mendoza at the front step of the bus. While Mr. Mendoza was standing at the steps of the bus, in full view of everyone, his gun was pointed down, and he was apparently talking with the negotiators at a short distance. At this time, the two negotiators could have easily grabbed him, tackle down and disarm Mr. Mendoza, or otherwise, a sharpshooter could have easily taken him down in an instant. Another strategy that the manila police force could have utilized was to wear down Mr. Mendoza. In other words, the negotiators could have bought some more time, until Mr. Mendoza finally surrendered, either of tiredness, hunger, or lack of option to consider. The desire by the police to bring in a relative(Mr. Mendoza's brother, in fact) to negotiate was a tactical mistake, according to some observers. Patience and time are very important in negotiations like this. Obviously, the using of "time" as a weapon was never really considered in this case. Next, what was so frustrating to see in the live video was the fact that when the assaulting team was ordered to go in, they did not have the right equipment to use to break in the glass door and windows of the bus. They were using a mere sledge hammer. It took them quite sometime before they could finally break the glass door open and enter in. Now, what is very important in a kidnapping rescue like this is the element of surprise. But, obviously, in this rescue incident at the Rizal park, there was no element of surprise whatsoever. While the assaulting team was trying to break the glass door of the bus - which took them sometime - Mr. Mendoza, at this time, could have already killed his hostages. The question is, why did not the assaulting team used the right equipment to break the glass door open? The British terrorism expert said that given the right equipment and tools, the assaulting team could have easily break in the door or windows of the bus in an instant. But this did not happen here. Also, from the video, you could see that the assaulting team were just concentrated on one area - opening up the door of the bus. They could have used the windows or the back door of the bus for entry, aside from the door entrance. But, unfortunately, the assaulting team, as described by many reports, did not have a ladder to use so they could have entered through the windows of the bus easily, or other means of entrance. Now, if I was the commander overseeing the rescue operation, I would have utilized both "land and air" power for the rescue operation. Some of the assaulting team members could have been dropped from a helicopter and entered on both sides of the bus windows, and made a surprise attack on the hijacker from that vantage point. Or, otherwise, they could have used some tactical deception to mislead Mr. Mendoza into believing that they were entering through the windows via helicopter, while in fact some of the assaulting team could have entered the bus via different entrance routes. Yes, there were a number of options that could have been considered in the rescue operation, but unfortunately, the assaulting team leaders did not have the right training to implement a good plan at such a very critical rescue operation.

As a result of this debacle, there were eight tourist nationals who died in the rescue operation. Hongkong and China were obviously angry. They are demanding some apology and thorough investigation from the Philippine government on the tragic incident. During the past week, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has come out in the media and made some apologetic remarks and extended condolences on the families of all the victims. He has declared August 25th as a National Day of Mourning for the victims. The Senate just had an inquiry on the same incident, whereby they were trying to get to the bottom of this tragic incident. As of this date, the head of the manila national police had resigned, and four of the team leaders of the assaulting team were relieved from their post. In the meantime, as President Aquino was asking for a thorough investigation on the incident, he promised to relieve and punish all those responsible for this debacle. He likewise formed a new swat group which was composed by the military and the police - to be trained well for rescue operation purposes. Because of this hijacking incident in manila, a lot of tourists are apparently scared and wondering whether they could ever be safe in the Philippines. Due to this incident also, a number of tourists especially from Hongkong and China have cancelled their previous reservations in coming to the Philippines. This was kind of worrisome for the Philippine Tourism Industry as there are about 140,000 Hongkong Nationals who visit the Philippines yearly, according to a Philippine News Report.

Now, what are we going to do from here on? I have a few suggestions to make. First, the Philippine government have to do its job - finish its investigation on the case as thorough but quickly as possible, and then present the result to the media for public disclosure. Everyone is interested to know what really happened, especially for the families of the injured and the victims - for their own closure and healing. Second, we have to show to the world that we are determined to do the right thing. If in the final report some people in the government or in the military are found wanting, or were determined that they were inefficient in their given tasks, then they have to be immediately relieve from their posts and be meted out with the corresponding punishment or penalty. Nobody should be above the law especially if it pertains to national security. Third, for the newly formed swat team, and for the other tactical teams already established by the different military agencies, which were originally formed for rescue operation purposes, all should undergo a training and retraining program, be equipped with the necessary tools and ammunitions to accomplish their jobs, and they should all be coordinated by one, single agency. Fourth, the Philippine government should immediately employ a reconstructive media promotion to repair its image, extend a hand of friendship especially with Hongkong and China by an open communication and transparent reporting of the incident, and by all means, extend all the necessary help for all the victims' families. Fifth, the military and the police have to repair their image as well. The head of the Interior Local Government, who oversees the military and police force, should initiate some necessary programs and training for all the military and police force of the country. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, what happened at Rizal park showed some kind of reflection on our military and police force in general. With the new government under President Aquino, I think it is time that we take the necessary step to modernize our military and police force, equip them with the modern tools of warfare, and retrain them to become efficient in their assigned jobs. Our people and everyone else, including tourists and guests in our country should feel safe because our military and police are called to protect them at all costs. This is their job - to protect our country and citizenry from any internal or external aggression. But the people can only feel secure if our military and police are able to function well, do their jobs as they should, and able to restore confidence among our people. All military or police undesirables should be rooted out from their respective agencies. The military and the police should as well maintain a level of professionalism at all times in their conduct and behavior. By this, the military and the police will gain due respect from the people on whom they are called to serve and protect. Sixth, in the aftermath of the tragic incident at Rizal park, the government should re-evaluate and make a study on the role of the media in any rescue or government operations. Apparently, according to some newspaper reports, the live broadcast media during the negotiations and military operations did not help facilitate to end the hostage drama. In fact, as some people observed, it made even worse the situation. The British terrorism expert said that there should have been a news blackout during the actual negotiations and operations, for the purpose of denying the hijacker a chance to promote his cause.

As we grieve and pray for the deceased, let this be a time for self-examination and renewal for us as a country. Let this be an opportunity for us to pause and reflect, to examine our weaknesses, and to determine how we can better ourselves in the future.

It is hard to fall and feel broken, but we can always look forward of getting up. At the end of a dark tunnel, we know a light will shine through. As the song says, "At the end of the storm, the light of the sun will shine again." I know that this tragic incident at Rizal park has put us all (especially the Filipinos) at a low ebb. We have been criticized, demeaned, and made fun in the media by all sorts of people, both inside and outside. But let this serve as a lesson for us to work for a positive change. Let us work harder to make this world and our country a better place to live in. Let us join hands together to create a better world free of violence and war; let us work together to promote justice for all people; let us continue to safeguard human life at all costs, and let us live the command of Christ - to love one another, even our enemies.

We are Filipinos. We don't easily give up. We can work together to make a positive change in our country. Let this be our solemn pledge.