Page Title
The hostage-taking drama in Manila
The wrong move to right a personally-perceived wrong
The wrong move to right a personally-perceived wrong
By Heidi M. Pascual
Manila -- It was a sad day that ended horribly wrong. On Aug. 23, Ex-Police Officer Rolando Mendoza took a tourist
bus with Hongkong and Canadian nationals hostage for 12 hours in the hope that local authorities will listen to him
and give his job back. The bemedalled Mendoza was dismissed by the Ombudsman for alleged anomalies
committed by his team while in service. Mendoza lost not only his job but his face when he was dishonorably
dismissed from the service. In reality, Mendoza knew that when he entered that bus, he was ready to die. But he
also knew that the media would be there to air his grievance big time. Unfortunately, the resulting deaths of many of
his hostages at the end buried whatever hope he had for the world to listen and understand him. It was a wrong
move to right an official action no matter how wrong he thought it was.
First, the place wasn't Hollywood. Unlike in the movies where the star gets justice by taking hostages and exposing
the real culprits, sometimes even killing the latter, this was real life. There was no script, no director, nothing. But
lots of cameras clicking and taping live the early negotiations, the release of some hostages, and the violent end, for
all the world to see. The tapes and still shots clearly showed the chances missed by sharpshooters and the
apparent lack of training and the wrong guns of the team that stormed the bus. But remember, Mendoza used to be
one of them. It would be difficult to gauge how each law enforcer involved in that scenario truly felt. "Should I or
shouldn't I shoot a former comrade in arms?"
There could be no justification whatsoever for killing innocent people to further Mendoza's goal. Mendoza could only
be labelled a terrorist, a criminal for all intents and purposes. His wrong move caused him his life as well.
But the bigger blow has something more to do with how Filipinos are now seen elsewhere in the world.
The after-effects
With Mendoza's action, Filipinos' image abroad has been tarnished immensely. Many Filipinos working in
Hongkong have been sent home by their employers, and Filipinos have been "banned" from entering Hongkong ...
for now. I could understand the grief and anger of the Chinese people especially from Hongkong, but to vent their
feelings toward Filipinos in general is also wrong. Filipinos are a good-hearted people, hospitable, industrious,
Manila -- It was a sad day that ended horribly wrong. On Aug. 23, Ex-Police Officer Rolando Mendoza took a tourist
bus with Hongkong and Canadian nationals hostage for 12 hours in the hope that local authorities will listen to him
and give his job back. The bemedalled Mendoza was dismissed by the Ombudsman for alleged anomalies
committed by his team while in service. Mendoza lost not only his job but his face when he was dishonorably
dismissed from the service. In reality, Mendoza knew that when he entered that bus, he was ready to die. But he
also knew that the media would be there to air his grievance big time. Unfortunately, the resulting deaths of many of
his hostages at the end buried whatever hope he had for the world to listen and understand him. It was a wrong
move to right an official action no matter how wrong he thought it was.
First, the place wasn't Hollywood. Unlike in the movies where the star gets justice by taking hostages and exposing
the real culprits, sometimes even killing the latter, this was real life. There was no script, no director, nothing. But
lots of cameras clicking and taping live the early negotiations, the release of some hostages, and the violent end, for
all the world to see. The tapes and still shots clearly showed the chances missed by sharpshooters and the
apparent lack of training and the wrong guns of the team that stormed the bus. But remember, Mendoza used to be
one of them. It would be difficult to gauge how each law enforcer involved in that scenario truly felt. "Should I or
shouldn't I shoot a former comrade in arms?"
There could be no justification whatsoever for killing innocent people to further Mendoza's goal. Mendoza could only
be labelled a terrorist, a criminal for all intents and purposes. His wrong move caused him his life as well.
But the bigger blow has something more to do with how Filipinos are now seen elsewhere in the world.
The after-effects
With Mendoza's action, Filipinos' image abroad has been tarnished immensely. Many Filipinos working in
Hongkong have been sent home by their employers, and Filipinos have been "banned" from entering Hongkong ...
for now. I could understand the grief and anger of the Chinese people especially from Hongkong, but to vent their
feelings toward Filipinos in general is also wrong. Filipinos are a good-hearted people, hospitable, industrious,
loving and reliable. Let not some bad egg like Mendoza
destroy the image of the people who inspired the whole world
through the bloodless PEOPLE Power Revolution in 1986.
I watched a march on TV held in Hongkong today (Aug. 29),
condemning Mendoza's crime. Chinese and Filipinos in
Hongkong marched together with a common voice. However,
a Filipino woman interviewed later expressed sadness as
she narrated an encounter with a Chinese who called her a
"criminal."
I could also understand travel advisories from other
countries warning about possible harm that might happen to
tourists/visitors who want to come to the Philippines. But let
not a single incident like this discourage people from coming
to this beautiful country and experiencing the warmth of its
people. The Filipino people are peace-loving and caring
people. This should not be the gauge of our visitors' decision
to skip our country.
There's a lot of criticism as to how authorities handled the
hostage situation, and for good reason. There's a lot to be
learned from it, and hopefully, the people concerned should
take it to heart..
Pres. Noy Aquino has lots of work to do but he should get
the inspiration from his late mother, Cory Aquino, who led a
peaceful revolution to correct a wrong political direction of this
country not so long ago.
destroy the image of the people who inspired the whole world
through the bloodless PEOPLE Power Revolution in 1986.
I watched a march on TV held in Hongkong today (Aug. 29),
condemning Mendoza's crime. Chinese and Filipinos in
Hongkong marched together with a common voice. However,
a Filipino woman interviewed later expressed sadness as
she narrated an encounter with a Chinese who called her a
"criminal."
I could also understand travel advisories from other
countries warning about possible harm that might happen to
tourists/visitors who want to come to the Philippines. But let
not a single incident like this discourage people from coming
to this beautiful country and experiencing the warmth of its
people. The Filipino people are peace-loving and caring
people. This should not be the gauge of our visitors' decision
to skip our country.
There's a lot of criticism as to how authorities handled the
hostage situation, and for good reason. There's a lot to be
learned from it, and hopefully, the people concerned should
take it to heart..
Pres. Noy Aquino has lots of work to do but he should get
the inspiration from his late mother, Cory Aquino, who led a
peaceful revolution to correct a wrong political direction of this
country not so long ago.