Aquino refuses to apologize for Manila hostage tragedy

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Tuesday reiterated that he regretted that the Manila hostage taking tragedy happened but said he will not issue a formal apology to the victims as the incident was the act of one man. “Again we deeply regret what has transpired. The apology connotes that the State did them grievous harm, I don’t think that is correct. This was the act of one man," Aquino told reporters after inspecting the Philippine Navy warship "BRP Gregorio del Pilar" in Manila. “We really wish it did not happen. We hope we had performed better at that point in time but in the same token that in no way that this tragedy would have been prevented because of a lone, solitary deranged gunman," he said. The President said the Filipino people continue to sympathize with the victims and their families. However, he said the Filipino people should not be blamed for the act of hostage-taker dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza who killed eight tourists from Hong Kong last year. Mendoza had taken hostage the busload of tourists to demand his reinstatement in the police force. However, a botched police rescue attempt prompted him to open fire at his hostages before he was himself gunned down by responding policemen. He said there are criminals in other countries as well but entire nations are not blamed for what these criminals do. “In the same token that some of us have been affected elsewhere in the world, we do not blame the entire population. We know that there are criminal elements, there are mentally deranged individuals that pose a threat to anybody regardless of race or country of origin," he said. Rapid turn of events He also said the events during the August 23, 2010 hostage crisis unfolded very rapidly because the hostage taker was unpredictable. Aquino explained that authorities had a hard time dealing with Mendoza because of the latter’s unstable state of mind. “You have a deranged individual who suddenly changes his disposition, practically in a whim, very serious limitations as one person or any country can do," he said. “Can we really be faulted that there was such a rapid turn of events?" he asked. Hoping for understanding Aquino said he understands the sentiments of the survivors and families of the victims “but hopefully they understand also that we could have improved and we have been improving from then to now." He also said that both the public and private sector have tried to assist the victims to overcome the tragedy. “I think they are aware of the fact that both public and private sectors of this country have really tried to assist them in their moving on," Aquino said. Aside from a public apology, the victims of the incident and their families asked the Philippine government for monetary compensation for the tragedy, criminal prosecution of government officials and implementation of reforms to ensure the safety of the tourists in the country. - VVP, GMA News