DFA assures Beijing, HK of law enforcement, police reform

The Department of Foreign Affairs has assured Beijing and Hong Kong authorities that the Aquino administration will reform Philippine law enforcement agencies and raise their abilities to manage hostage-takings and other crises. The DFA made this assurance in a statement issued Monday just as the Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) wrapped up its work on the August 23 Manila bus hostage crisis. The statement also came on the same day that Hong Kong issued a black travel advisory warning its citizens over "terrorism threats" in the Philippines. This was the second black advisory Hong Kong issued in four months, the first was issued immediately after the August 23 bungled rescue attempt. The DFA also said that President Benigno Aquino III’s government was looking into the proposed changes in police procedures, as well as new crisis management and coordination and emergency protocols being proposed by the IIRC, following the release of the recommendations of the second phase of its work. As part of the second phase, the IIRC reviewed the operational plans and procedures of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and conducted a detailed audit and inventory of the training and equipment of law enforcement agencies. It also reviewed PNP standards and procedures in administrative cases involving police officers and personnel. Beijing, HK dismayed In the morning of August 23, dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus in Intramuros, Manila and ordered the driver to park the vehicle in front of the Quirino Grandstand. In taking over the bus, Mendoza demanded to be reinstated in the police force. The bus was carrying 25 people, including 20 tourists from Hong Kong, and at the end of the 11-hour hostage drama, eight tourists and the hostage-taker himself were killed. In months following the hostage-taking, Aquino displeased Chinese authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China when he brushed aside the IIRC’s recommendations in its first report. In its first report the IIRC, headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, recommended the filing of criminal cases against more than 10 people — including police and government officials as well as media personalities and institutions — for the botched handling of the crisis. Police officers Director Leocadio Santiago, Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, Superintendent Orlando Yebra and Chief Inspector Santiago Pascual, as well as Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, former PNP chief Jesus Versoza, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, were on the list. However, Aquino only ordered the filing of administrative charges against four police officials, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzales III. Only the hostage-taker's brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, was identified as criminally liable for illegal possession of firearms and serious illegal detention. The President decided not to pursue charges against his longtime friend, Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, as well as Verzosa, Moreno, broadcasters Michael Rogas and Erwin Tulfo, and broadcast stations ABS-CBN, GMA and TV 5. In the following months, Aquino had tried to meet with Chinese officials on the sidelines of international trips, including a trip to Vietnam for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2010 summit. However, the Chinese government had reportedly snubbed all three requests. Late in November, Chinese officials also declined to receive a Philippine delegation led by Vice President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to discuss the hostage tragedy that killed eight Hong Kong tourists. Steps to lure tourists Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism said the Philippine government has taken up measures to safeguard tourists coming to the country for the holiday season. The National Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOP-COP) is a program launched by the tourism and local government departments together with the national police. Under this program, special teams of "tourist-oriented police officers" have been created and deployed in priority tourist destinations throughout the country. Given the job of providing security and police assistance to travelers, these "tourist-oriented police officers" have been deployed to tourist attractions in Manila, which they now patrol. The PNP Highway Patrol Group has also created a special task force to protect motorists and bus passengers who visit attractions outside the country’s capital. It has also set-up what it says is a well-equipped operations center where actions can be coordinated during crises. Despite the Manila bus hostage fiasco, tourist arrivals to the country from January to November 8 rose 17 percent to 2,562,505 from 2,190,114 recorded for the same period last year, the DOT said. For the first 10 months of the year, Americans were the country’s top tourists with 679,406 arrivals recorded. South Koreans were second at 525,564, followed by Japanese at 331,156 and Chinese at 229,989. — DM/RSJ, GMANews.TV — DM/RSJ, GMANews.TV