Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from August, 2010

THOUGHTS ON THE MANILA HOSTAGE CRISIS

My sympathy to the families of eight Hongkong nationals who perished in the recent Manila hostage crisis. It was a very sad incident. The casualties were part of a group of 25 tourists riding in bus when taken hostage by a former Manila policeman. Captain Rolando Mendoza, the hostage taker, was earlier dismissed from service due to a robbery extortion case filed against him. Hostage taking can happen anywhere in the world with even much worse aftermath. However the kind of hostage rescue attempt done by the Manila’s SWAT team could happen only in the Philippines. It would be a pity if it would be duplicated elsewhere. I watched the live coverage of the hostage drama to the end. Shots inside the bus were heard a few minutes after the brother of the hostage taker was seen on TV confronted and bodily hauled by the police because he was making a scene and uttering insinuations. It was particularly agonizing to watch the botched rescue attempt. As the scenes unfolded, I could scarcely belie