Aquino wants strike force vs hostage-taking, other crises

(Updated 4:43 p.m.) Malacañang said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III wants to set up an "elite strike force" to deal with future hostage-taking incidents and other similar crises. Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma said Aquino wants the force to have members from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). "Sabi ng pangulo magtatag ng elite force ng AFP at PNP, elite strike force na maging handa para sa ganyang krisis. Yan ang pagtutuunan ng pansin ngayon para mapabago at mapahusay ang kahandaan natin sa krisis tulad nito (The president wants an elite strike force composed of the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. This is one of the possible steps to improve our response to such crises)," he said in an interview on dwIZ radio. On Monday, eight tourists from Hong Kong were killed along with their hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, after an 11-hour hostage crisis. Coloma also hinted at the formation of a "crisis communications setup" to ensure immediate response during crises. An ongoing investigation is focusing on the poor handling of the incident by the police authorities on the ground. The Philippine National Police has elite Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Special Action Force (SAF) units to deal with crises. However, the Manila police's SWAT was highly-criticized after their assault on the bus on Monday was aired on television. No problem with AFP Later in the day, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said there would be no problem in putting up a unit composed of elite military and police forces. Mabanta said the military has elite units, including the Joint Special Operations Group based in Camp Aguinaldo. The SOG is composed of composite elite forces from the Army, Air Force and Navy. Among the units under the SOG is the US-trained and armed Light Reaction Company. The military had offered the services of the LRC during the hostage drama, but the police chose not to make use of the unit. "Now that we have these (elite units), one of the things to do is to integrate. There are already elite forces available. It would be much easier to combine or have this on a joint mode but the thing is there is a need for lots of coordination and collaboration because jointness is another thing," Mabanta said. "There has to be interoperability between the forces of the PNP and the Armed Forces. Interoperability is very important. So how do we do that? First is to conduct joint exercises and training. Second is to see to it that equipment are compable with each other, particularly communication," he added. Law enforcement capability Coloma said Monday's incident was a reflection of the capability of the nation's law enforcement sector. "Naipakita doon ang kakulangan ng equipment, sa pagsasanay, sa pagkilos nang mahusay sa isang krisis. At yan ang estado na minana ng kasalukuyang administrasyon (Monday's incident showed the lack of equipment and training needed to deal with a crisis. That is the state of the law enforcement that we inherited from the past administration)," he said. Coloma said another priority of the government is to improve the capabilities of state security forces, including the PNP. However, he said the government is ready to give the PNP the funds it needs for equipment and training. However, he said the PNP leadership will have to account for how it spends government resources. "Kasama ang concept ng accountability... Tama na alamin paano paggamit ng resources na bibigay sa kanila (We have not forgotten the concept of accountability. It is but proper that the public knows how the resources the police gets are spent)," he said. "Kami ay handa maging accountable at responsible sa estado ng kapulisan (We are also ready to become accountable and responsible for the state of our police force)," he added. – VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV