Facing the Music: The Manila Hostage Taking Crisis

Tragedies like the August 23, 2010 hostage taking turned-carnage at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila has the power to leave a nasty taste on everyone's palate that is difficult to dispel. Somewhere in the middle of the 12-hour crisis everyone assumed it was nearing resolution but things went south as the hours passed. How will the Philippine government explain the events of that fateful night?

I am a proud Filipino, I love my country I love my people, I believe in my government. But even I can't help but cringe at the ineptness of the people who handled the hostage crisis. I started following it on the news around 5:00 PM Manila time and was mildly surprised at how long it has gone on as it started around mid-morning. As a spectator, the demands of the hostage taker was the first thing I wanted to know. Ex-Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza wants to know the decision of the Ombudsman on his case. He got embroiled in an extortion charge and was relieved of his duties in 2008. He is set to retire next year and stands to lose his benefits if found guilty. Another demand is his reinstatement to his post. (He has been a police officer for 11 years and received recognition and citations for doing his job.)

In other words he was a desperate man. How he knew about the tour bus carrying Hong Kong nationals on their last day of a leisure holiday in Manila is beyond everyone. I don't think the investigation has gone that far yet. He hijacked the bus in Fort Santiago and took it to its last destination, the Quirino grandstand where just a few weeks before, incoming Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (Noynoy) took his oath of office.

The Philippines is not new to hostage taking but more often than not these events end with the hostage-taker losing his life and the hostages living to tell their tale. This could have been the outcome of the Monday hostage drama. It had all the indications of being resolved. If you watch all those US police crime series you would think that Mendoza is the type of hostage taker the police would want to deal with. His demands were quite simple, a ruling on his case and his reinstatement to the force. His actions indicated that he is disinclined to resort to violence. He released a total of 10 hostages (children and the aged) to show good faith. Let us not forget though that he is a desperate man out to kill and be killed, the mere action of taking innocent people at gunpoint would indicate that. One does not need a specialty in criminal profiling to know that measures need to be taken to ensure that he does not get more agitated and angry than he already is.

Going South, Turning Sour

Things started to go downhill after he trashed the document he received from the Office of the Ombudsman saying that his case will be given a 10-day priority review and ruling. This was around 5:00 PM. He started losing his calm demeanor especially after his brother Gregorio also a police officer (who was helping the negotiators) fueled Mendoza's anger by suggesting that Mendoza demand the return of Gregorio's firearm taken by the police earlier in the day.

Mendoza finally lost it when he watched his brother cause a scene and resist arrest. I think this is where the first big mistake happened. It was reported that Mendoza was monitoring the events on the television inside the bus and saw his brother's emotional outburst to the media about being arrested. This was the start of the end of the crisis and everything was caught on TV as the whole world watched.

The Tune of the Aftermath

How the police can make a poor job of rescuing the hostages from a lone gun man is the niggling thought on everyones mind. It was in mine at least as I watched outraged at the ineptness of our Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWAT). It is plain to see that they were too afraid to take on Mendoza even after he has started shooting his hostages. Much of the tentativeness of the assault team was clearly due to the fact that they were ill-equipped to undertake an assault. Most of the men on the team had no helmets, no Kevlar vests and only had handguns. After gassing the bus they were unable to storm in immediately as they had no gas masks. They used sledgehammers that could not break the fiber glass at one go, they used a rope to pul out the bus door and the rope broke (wasn't there a chain anywhere?). It took them almost an hour to subdue Mendoza after he opened fire on the hostages. It also took a while to get to the survivors and bring them to safety.

Facing the Music

After watching the sorry events that took almost 12 hours I believe the anger and resentment felt by the Hong Kong people is warranted. Now every move that our government makes towards appeasing the anger of Hong Kong is met with suspicion and skepticism and anger. Even President Aquino's smiles during interviews and press conferences after the event were highly criticized. Every little move...

I still believe that the Chinese people is intelligent enough to see through the shortcomings of our police force to our genuine grief and remorse over the whole affair. Nobody should have to go through what the hostages went through that night, it is really a painfully sad event. And indeed we are facing the music as best as we can. Five police leaders have been sacked for the major errors in judgment committed on that fateful night. Profuse apologies have been made left and right and the resolve to improve our capabiilties has never been stronger.

Our President is not making light of the events, he simply cannot afford to, and he is after all of Chinese descent (his middle name is Cojuangco). He may need to school his features when speaking in public. I have noticed early on that his smile is very similar to his sneer, a trait that he shares with his father former Senator and national hero, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. I have seen some of Ninoy's speeches and interviews against Marcos and noticed that he masks his anger with a sneer that is masked in a smile.

This is the most serious problem facing our nation at this point, my hope is that we learn our lessons well. I pray for the ones who did not make it and I hope the flames of anger and strong emotions will not be fanned by careless comments, hasty judgments and further missteps as we face the music.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

beyond sadness

The hardest to deal with are the tears that won't fall. They stay gripping the heart, squeezing it tightly and never letting go. So after you have shed oceans of tears for mountains of reasons the soul is still weary like an old man stripped of all glory. The inside is empty and hollow. Like a gaze that penetrates but does not comprehend. I wonder if anyone else recognizes this texture of sadness when it shrouds their lives. This is worse than losing a loved one or getting your heart broken because at least there is the visceral pain that accompanies these kinds of sadness. Pain is something that everyone can relate to because its almost alive, almost tangible. This barren grief though cannot be described and cannot be named. Empty and hollow, it does not inspire suicide, no, that would have been too easy. This sadness drags you by the hair kicking and screaming to imprison you to a state of nothingness. It does not inspire anger, just resignation and it draws a bleak shade on everything that used to be happy and bright and it stays. Keeping watch, waiting to pounce again and again without warning.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

James Cameron's Avatar

I feel I need to watch this again to give it the attention it deserves. What I've got at home is a crude cinema copy which I bought just to be able to say that yes, Ive seen the film. I did try my best to pay attention to the story, the effects as you would expect was lost to me, none of the magic comes across when you're watching a crude cinema copy. After a few minutes to the movie, I was bored but the movie buff in me tried to hang on because often the good ones start a bit slow. On the half-hour mark, I threw the towel. Not this wasn't the Avatar that was crocked up to be, I mean everybody, every single person I spoke to loved it. I on the other hand simply didn't get it. It kind of reminded me of that old television series where humans lived with an alien race, was that V? Well I hated that series, something about humans canoodling with aliens is just off-putting to me. I want my aliens to be the enemies, like in the X files. I want them to be bad and destructive not sensitive and intelligent. So I should like Avatar right? Because in this film the tables were turned, it was us humans wanting to subjugate an alien race. Hope I got that one right.

So I didn't get it and I'm a bit bemused because I'm usually sold to the mainstream popular stuff. Somehow I feel I owe everyone an apology for not liking it one bit. But I'm willing to give it another shot, hopefully with a clear copy or even inside a movie house.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

Christmas Classics

It is a given fact that the holidays bring back fond memories of the people who are no longer there to celebrate it with. At my family's Christmas dinner we all particularly miss our mom. We also miss our antics every time mom goes through her sacred ritual of cooking the Christmas meals (for they are many) and then later on having guests over during Christmas. I don't know if anyone else does it like my mom but she is Martha Stewart crossed with General Patton in the kitchen at Christmas and all the other family gatherings we've had.

For instance she and only she gets to pick the food for the feast. Oh sure we can all make our little requests of what we wish to see on the table, but ultimately, she does the menus (for they are many). Our neighbors and relatives always anticipate what we're serving. Mommy has a lot of protocols when it comes to her cooking, and she has trained us well on keeping to the program. To sum up what she demands from us, it is to get out of her way and let her do her thing, but always be available for when she needs assistance.

After our Christmas dinner the other day, me, my sisters and their children were gathered around in the living room just chatting and connecting to each other. Our conversation turned to how mom was during the holidays. We all agreed that she was the best cook we all knew. She only buys the best ingredients, did not scrimp on the mayonnaise in salads, her menudo did not have even a smidgen of pork fat, she hates extenders and any other cost-cutting schemes when it comes to the food that she cooks. Absolutely no one is allowed to hover on the table while she's cooking unless you want to hear an earful on right conduct. After she's done with the stuff that needs to be refrigerated, no one is allowed to open the fridge, even for drinking water.

Since we're a huge family of seven siblings, our mom has taught us the art of making ourselves scarce once the guests arrive. We either eat in the bedroom to lessen the traffic downstairs or we wait for the guests to finish eating before we can eat. In a huge household you learn to make room. I didn't mind, in fact I was quite content listening to the conversations through the stairs. At some point she'll call on us to introduce us to the guests, and to answer their questions politely. Who needs charm school when you've got a mother who teaches us how to conduct ourselves in front of other people (I guess the correct word is decorum, and I think its sorely missing in the youth of today).

How I miss my mom, the good food, the wisdom, the love only a mother could give.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

when you've made your bed you can still complain for sure

it could be discontent, chasing rainbow's ends...ho-hum its a slow sunday evening-monday morning. If you're still up at this hour chances are you're glued to a good re-run on HBO or you're thinking of your life or what's become of it. Well I'm watching the very first (and I think the best) Batman movie. Michael Keaton is the best Batman far as I'm concerned. Jack Nicholson, the better Joker by far.

Up next is Twilight Zone the Movie! Me oh my and on Christmas time at that! I remember this film quite well, John Lithgow's plane hallucinations really stuck to my memory. I also distinctly remember the line "...wanna see something scary..." Of course it didn't hurt that the film had this remarkable song also called Twilight Zone, by the Manhattan Transfer. But this film became known in history for the accidental deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two very young Vietnamese extras while shooting scene.

A while ago I was at the nearest mall from my place, its called Cash and Carry and its about as busy as any mall would be during xmas time. I wanted to get gifts for my nephews and nieces and did manage to purchase about five items. So my gift list has been trimmed down to about 24, and this is just my family, but on the other hand its already the 19th and I have work till the 24th so that's that.

What really caught my attention was the small conversation I overheard from three or four teens outside our house while I was waiting for transport. Now these are your regular public high school kids. In this part of the planet, we are notorious for looking down on our noses at the quality of public school education, even more so if the subject is English. But this scene I witness gave me hope that maybe finally, our youth is getting better in speaking English. So one of the teens is buying something in the store and her friends, who were a couple were walking towards her holding hands. Soon as she spots them she shouts "Ang cheesy nyong dalawa!" (You two are so cheesy). Well I didn't know that teens use this expression these days, that's really something I think.

This Christmas Rush IS TRUE!!!

This must be what its like to go to war. You wear comfy shoes, tie your hair up, wear baggy clothes, bring a huge bag, or no bag just the plastic in the back-pocket or some bills. This is the earnest, last minute christmas shopping. Whoever created the idea of gift-giving must be laughing his/her ass off watching the last-minute shoppers. If you want to go to the oyster that is Divisoria, make sure you start around 7am and be out of there by 11am, otherwise you'll get sucked in the vortex of bargain shoppers, scrounging and scrimping the ever powerful peso to purchase gifts for everyone they know. The family, the friends, the classmates or workmates, the garbage collector, the building security guard, the dogs and cats. In here you get sidetracked at every turn, you buy a good gift for your boss, but then you walk a few paces and something better and cheaper (and more perfect for your teacher) greets you, so you mentally adjust who to give the one you just bought to (mentally you go: "ok so the first gift could go to my hairdresser instead and ill get this one for my boss...). This just goes on and on an on until you realize you've purchased a bundle of inconsequential items like little sewing kits, flashlights, army knives that you do not know who to give to.

Malls are a different story, its good to have a companion when you go gift hunting in the malls, so you can have them stand at the cashier queue while you quickly grab the items you want. When I go mall-shopping I take my nieces with me, to line up at the counter, carry my parcels, run to the other end of the floor to get an item I've been looking at but forgot to get. Only downside there is I have to feed them, sometimes they want Starbucks and there goes a quarter of my shopping funds!

The commute can go from easy to horrible. Not one for taking jeepneys or buses I get all the horror stories of taking the cab. The bargaining with the driver whose windows are rolled down, the additional charge for God knows what. There's the irate driver, who begrudgingly takes you to your destination but makes it a point to let you know he doesn't want to (why they even went to cab driving in the first place...). There's the endless yak about how bad the traffic is here or there.

Sometimes this tiny little things take some of the fun out of what should be the funnest period of the year. It is during this time when I switch the words of the famous Christmas song from: This christmas rush is through - to this christmas rush is TRUE! hahaha Have fun shoppers, and same time next year!