Tags: Accidents and Tragedies, Administration, General News
By KC Santos
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – President Benigno Aquino III promised to allot more resources to equip and train the country’s police force in the aftermath of the tragic hostage-taking crisis that earned criticisms here and abroad.
In a press briefing late Monday, hours after the ten-hour hostage drama ended with eight Hong Kong nationals reported killed along with hostage-taker and former police officer Rolando Mendoza, President Aquino offered his condolences to victims’ families and promised a thorough investigation of the incident. (Read Aquino’s official statement on the hostage crisis.)
On Tuesday, police officials admitted there have been shortcomings in the way the crisis was handled.
The damage, however, has been done even before the hostage drama ended.
As the standoff was aired on live television – both local and international media – people on the Internet were already criticizing Philippine police for their actions. The incident became the most talked-about topics on Twitter and Facebook.
The incident also made headlines in international media such as BBC and CNN, earning varied reactions from readers all over the world.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang expressed disappointment at how Philippine police handled the hostage crisis, calling the incident “most regrettable”, according to this International Business Times report.
The same report also quoted Hong Kong residents who echoed similar sentiments, criticizing local police for the tragedy.
Filipino blogger redkinoko wrote that the police jeopardized the safety of hostages by not applying operational methods during hostage-crisis situations. He likewise criticized the media for “too much coverage”, aiding the hostage-taker in his actions.
“I think the worst part of the whole ordeal is that there simply was no clear plan. The police looked as panicked as we were, making things all the worse,” he said.
Blogger Jaime posted guidelines for journalists during a hostage crisis (taken from Poynter.org) and said these were not followed and that the local media should have been more concerned about the hostages’ safety than getting exclusive footage of the incident.
This incident is seen to have direct effects on the country’s tourism industry, not to mention diplomatic ties with Hong Kong, which already issued a “travel ban” advising its citizens not to go to the Philippines.
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