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Aquino not satisfied with how hostage crisis was handled


President Benigno Aquino III on early Tuesday said he has tasked various government agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the hostage crisis in Manila that resulted in the deaths of eight people. At a press briefing in Malacañang hours after the crisis ended with the death of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza, Aquino admitted that the government could have handled the situation better. “This led in a tragedy. Obviously we can improve and we should be improving. We are also cognizant of the circumstances, training and budget," he said. Aquino also said the media’s live coverage of the incident “severely hampered" the efforts to rescue the hostages, most of them Chinese tourists who were inside a bus. “Of course with the nonstop coverage of all the media outlets—we now understand the hostage-taker was viewing the TV and listening to the radio the whole time—[the] actual movement [of responding policemen] to areas where they can effect a successful assault were severely hampered," he said. Aquino said he has tasked the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Government to review all the circumstances surrounding the hostage crisis, which took place in front of the Quirino Grandstand, incidentally the venue of Aquino’s inauguration last June 30.


From bad to worse Aquino said the situation “deteriorated rapidly" when during the course of the negotiations, Mendoza, a dismissed policeman, became increasingly agitated while talking to an “unknown individual" on the phone. Mendoza also read a letter from the Office of the Ombudsman promising him that his robbery-extortion case, which was blamed for his actions, will be reviewed. Aquino said the presence of Mendoza’s brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, who was arrested for reportedly carrying a gun during the negotiations, also “added to the tension." Why no news blackout? Aquino said the media's live coverage also did not help the police responding to the crisis as Mendoza was informed of their movement through news on the radio and television. He said prepositioning government forces around the Quirino Grandstand was “not an easy thing to do" because of the size of the area. Aquino, however, said the government is standing by its decision not to impose a news black out during the crisis. “If we ordered a news blackout you’d tell us we’re we were guilty of censoring you. We cannot censor you for things that you have yet to do. And we did vow transparency," he told those who covered the news briefing. He said the government will be talking to the media soon to “come out with terms and conditions that will help each of us achieve our objectives." More budget, training Asked if he thought there were lapses in the way the crisis was handled, Aquino answered, “How can I be satisfied when there are people who died?" “For instance, for incidents such as this, equipment [are] necessary, the ability to deploy it everywhere in the country. Andami talagang kelangang gawin (There are a lot of things that must be done)," he said. He added that “the method they (SWAT team) employed to breach was not successful. Obviously we will need better equipment and more training to be able to successfully breach such a scenario." Aquino also justified the government’s decision not to choose a high-ranking official to negotiate with Mendoza, saying there was an opinion that it would lead to more demands from the hostage-taker, who might think a higher official could grant more privileges and concessions. Deep feelings of sorrow Aquino said he has tasked Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to “conveyed [the government's] deep feelings of sorrow" to the people of Hong Kong and the Foreign Minister of China through Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Hong Kong issued a travel ban to the Philippines after the incident as most of the fatalities were from Hong Kong. Aquino said he has also tasked Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman and Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim to “provide everything necessary for the recovery and return home of the survivors." He said it took him a while to issue a statement as he was trying to get more details from the ground. - KBK, GMANews.TV
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