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Hostage Fiasco a Huge and Painful Embarrassment for the Philippines

here are many Filipinos who are not surprised by Earlier during the crisis Capt. Mendoza releases a hostagethe tragic outcome of Monday's hostage crisis. They say that Philippine law enforcement officials are poorly trained, poorly equipped, and poorly supervised. Many Pinoys throughout the metropolis know that traffic cops are readily bribed, law enforcement operatives shakedown young or defenseless citizens, and jail personnel think nothing of mistreating individuals in their custody.

Given the above, it is not surprising that the internet is now abuzz with criticism of the way Philippine police authorities handled this hostage crisis. The people of Hong Kong are understandably up in arms for the trauma their compatriots went through, eight of whom were killed. With cameras rolling,SWAT team storm the tourist bus with tragic consequences the whole world was given a front-row seat to witness the almost comical—had the outcome not be so tragic—operations of the Philippine police authorities.

So here's what we believe should happen: The government should immediately place all police officials directly involved in the operation, on temporary suspension pending the outcome of a through investigation. And the suspensions should go up the chain of command to those police and government officials who exercised operational control over the situation. The Philippines has received a black-eye from this crisis—and deservedly so. How the government responds will determine how quickly the country will be rehabilitated in the eyes of the world. If this turns into a whitewash, if no lessons are learned, if incompetent police officials are kept in place, then the country will fall further behind the rest of the civilized world. And not just foreign tourists, but even former Filipinos and expatriates living abroad will refuse to set foot again in the country.

Update 4:30 p.m. (Local Time) 8/25/2010
Unconfirmed reports indicate that four police officers have been suspended in connection with the botched hostage rescue operation.

Update 8:00 p.m. (Local Time) 8/25/2010
Unconfirmed reports state that Manila Police Department, Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay has been relieved of duty.


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Comments from Our  Readers

Name: Gus
City/State/Country: Philippines
IP Address: 202.128.54.113

Comments

I grieve for the state of affairs our country is in. Many say that our land is governed by opportunists who enslave and take advantage of their own people; send them to foreign lands, sell their honor, their very souls, just to send a few pennies to their loved ones back home because their gov't cannot take care of their own people. Many say that our gov't officials are incredibly corrupt, steal people's money, money money that could have gone to the poor. Many say that our police is nothing but a mafia, preying on the helpless, and when faced with real challenges, display on the world stage, their incompetence and intellectual deficiency. Many say that we deserve what we get. I HATE IT WHEN THEY SAY THESE THINGS! But, are they true? And if they are, WHAT CAN WE DO AS A PEOPLE? AS A NATION?


Name: Jaime L. Calero
City/State/Country: Penrith, NSW, Aust.
IP Address: 218.215.22.14

Comments

Dear Sir/Madam, Up to 1946 we had Philippine Scouts, AFP and Police. In 1972 after former Pres. Marcos declared 'Martial Law' he consolidated the AFP & PNP. Both organizations gained Political Power and learned to yield it. I would therefore recommend that the former Police organization be reverted to it's former status prior to 'Martial Law. Kindly note that the late Benigno Aquino pointed out that, 'Once the Military had experienced Political Power it would be difficult to return them to the Barracks. Certainly the US Aid being offered for training our Police organization, as well as the equipment necessary is a good start to a better organization. Sincerely, Jaime Calero


Name: Vanessa Lee
City/State/Country: Kuwait
IP Address: 62.150.135.146

Comments

What if we are the ones affected? Did we receive sympathy from these countries? Did they react like what happened to Financial Analyst Cruz who perished Feb. 2004, two Filipino Tourists died in Tiananmen Square in 2005, rape case of Suzette Nicolas, Nov. 2005 and to name a few. Did we name names? We have to be firm in our stand and show these countries that we also have the same capabilities as what they have. Nobody has the right to underestimate us being Pilipino and living in an independent country. With regards to crime they are having higher crime rate compare to our country, drugs, human trafficking, etc.


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