DILG's Puno: We planned to wear out hostage-taker

Update 3 - 1:49 p.m. — Undersecretary Rico Puno of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the civilian official who supervises the Philippine National Police (PNP), told the body probing the hostage tragedy that he treated it as a local crisis to be handled by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who planned to wear out the hostage-taker, dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, who ended up killing eight tourists. Puno said the hostage crisis was considered a local crisis because the hostage-taker used to be part of the Manila Police District and that the event occurred in Manila. "It was a local crisis, it was a local hostage-situation, where the ground commander or the mayor would handle it," said Puno on Friday during the first formal proceedings of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC), the body tasked to probe the hostage tragedy. He also quoted Mayor Lim as saying in the afternoon before the shooting, "Pagurin na lang natin (Let's just tire him out)." Asked why no one in the local crisis management committee, headed by Lim, dissented when the plan to tire him [hostage-taker] out was made, Puno explained, "The general idea there was to save lives, even that of the hostage-taker. If we can save the life of even the hostage-taker, then we will be very successful." Security experts have pointed out there were several opportunities for police negotiators to overpower or disable Mendoza before he began his killing spree. Instead, two police negotiators were seen chatting with Mendoza who had his rifle down. Snipers also had a clear view of Mendoza. Snipers, they said, had a clear view of Mendoza but did not take him down earlier. Two police negotiators were instead seen chatting with Mendoza who had his rifle down. Puno admitted that even though he was the civilian overseer of the PNP on that day, he had no training in hostage crisis resolutions. "I am not capable of handling hostage negotiations. I am not trained to handle hostage-taking," Puno said on Friday, the first day of the "clarificatory questioning" for the investigation of the August 23 hostage crisis in Manila. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Puno was assigned by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, only "verbally" and without a written order, to supervise the PNP. Other sources say Aquino met with both Puno and DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo in July to divide DILG responsibilities between the two of them, with Robredo handling local governments and Puno taking charge of the PNP. However, these assignments were never put in writing. Robredo has told the media that during much of the hostage crisis, he was "out of the loop." Puno told the IIRC probing the hostage tragedy that he is willing to take responsibility for the bloodbath, where eight Hong Kong nationals were killed by disgruntled ex-policeman, Rolando Mendoza. "If there are any lapses where I would have to take responsibility, (then) I would take responsibility," Puno said. Asked about any regrets on how he handled the hostage crisis, Puno said he wished he had more time to prepare and that the PNP was not adequately prepared.
Review committee Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is the chairperson of the IIRC probing the hostage incident. The vice-chairman of the IIRC, created this week, is Robredo. Police investigators from Hong Kong were also present to observe the proceedings. The other members include Citizens Action Against Crime head Teresita Ang-See (Filipino-Chinese community representative), Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas president Herman Basbano (media representative), and Integrated Bar of the Philippines governor for Eastern Mindanao Roan Libarios (legal community representative). Aside from Puno, PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa also faced the panel. The proceedings will resume on Saturday and Monday next week. Local vs national crisis The Philippine government has received widespread criticism from around the country and the world for the bungled hostage rescue operation at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. The hostage-taker commandeered a bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipinos on August 23. After an 11-hour standoff, Mendoza and eight Hong Kong tourists were killed. It is believed that Mendoza's anger was stoked when he saw a live broadcast of his brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, being arrested at a nearby police community precinct. The broadcast media has also been under fire for allegedly failing to restrain itself in the coverage of the crisis in the absence of government and police advisories. On Friday, Puno said the local crisis management committee did not see the need to elevate the crisis to a national crisis committee because of Mendoza's demeanor during the first hours of the 11-hour hostage crisis. "Our assessment at that time was that he was a very cooperative hostage taker," said Puno. But review committee member Roan Libarios asked: "At no point in time, between 10:00 [a.m.] to 7:00 [p.m.], did it occur to you that the crisis situation was within the dimension of a national crisis incident?" Puno replied: "No sir." Libarios also told Verzosa that there is an absence of criteria that will define a hostage crisis as a local or national concern. "That's right. We have to come up with a more detailed (guidelines) whenever foreign nationals are involved," replied Verzosa. Lapses During the clarificatory questions, the following lapses were also pointed out by Puno and Verzosa:

• The lack of equipment to breach the bus windows
• The police's failure to contain the media
• The breakdown of communication between the Mendoza and negotiators during the final hours of the hostage crisis
• How Mendoza, a dismissed policeman, managed to keep a firearm
• The lack of protocol involving diplomatic relations when foreign nationals are held hostage

The broadcast media has also been under fire for allegedly failing to restrain itself in the coverage of the crisis in the absence of government and police advisories. — LBG/RSJ/VVP/HGS, GMANews.TV