Thoughts on the Hostage Crisis

Like most other people, I feel the hostage-taking crisis last night was handled in an exceptionally bad way.

What really got to me was that I don't think Capt. Ronaldo Mendoza was an evil man to begin with. What he was seeking was justice. I am inclined to believe that his claim of innocence against charges or extortion and robbery was true, for all he wanted was to be reinstated to the service so that he could still claim the pension, and other benefits when he retired.

Though I don't condone his methods, still, it just goes to show that in the Philippines, if you don't take a stand for what you absolutely believe is true (in this case, Mendoza's insistence that he was unjustly discharged), then nothing will happen. Justice seems to be severely lacking in the Philippines and forced one man, who had served the police force for nearly 30 years to act in such a way that led to the tragic incident. He had served all his life, was allegedly falsely accused of criminal acts, and eventually removed from the force. His father, brother and son were all policemen and he was named one of the country's top 10 best policemen in 1986. What could have made a man change so much?

And why did the police have to restrain his brother right in his line of sight, when the brother wanted to negotiate with him? It is a known fact that it was this incident that prompted his random shooting of hostages.

Why did the negotiations fail? Was his demand so unacceptable that no compromise was met? Why the heck did it take a long time to break the fiber glass? Why did the police even launch a full assault when there were still hostages inside?

The crisis started at 10am. Why didn't the authorities have any strategy up until 7pm in the evening? Why in the world did they use ropes (which unsurprisingly broke) instead of chains when they attempted to pull the door free by tying one end to a mobile vehicle?

The whole crisis surely was an embarrassment to the Philippines but most importantly, it cannot bring back the lives lost on that day.