Monday, August 30, 2010

Manila DRAMA...even Shakespeare could not write this.


Below is an article from Sin Chew Daily online.
I think it is a very good piece of writing as it manages to encapsulate my feelings, thoughts
and sentiments about this MOST UNNECESSARY TRAGEDY.
Unk Dicko would urge all readers to pay particular attention to the last paragraph of the report.
Note especially the key phrase, " the whole thing should not be seen as merely an incidental
or isolated case". [ I fully concur ] .

Many kidnappings, murders, hostage-taking and other most serious crimes have taken place
over the years in an unending upward spiral, including in recent days.
Many of these crimes are committed by police officers and uniformed personnel.
One of my blog visitor Stanley has requested me to share personal anecdotes about my
experience there...so that anyone intending to visit the Philippines will be more prepared.
Certainly Unk Dicko will do so.

Rolando Mendoza was extremely cruel and inhuman in this COWARDLY ACT.
HE IS A 100% COWARD, no two ways about it, just like
those Mumbai terrorists who murdered Lo Hwei Yen and company .
When you hold a gun, bomb or machete and threaten openly to kill INNOCENT people NOT CONNECTED with your cause whatsoever...You are nothing but a most depraved COWARD.
However, though he killed without mercy, the world knows that his act was symptomatic [ not a culmination ! ] of the depth of the disease of extreme Corruption, Greed for power and money, politics, nepotism and all manner of criminal activity throughout the Philippines.

Where did he get his M 16 rifle and hundreds of rounds from...since he was already sacked
in 2008? He was also carrying handguns too.
Well..no one has even asked this question so far. Why? It's irrelevant that's WHY. It's unnecessary to ask. This is THE P'ppines remember....where everything goes, where everything
just might be possible...FOR A PRICE, of course.


The Philippine drama
Sat, Aug 28, 2010

Sin Chew Daily

The Philippines has become the latest target of international reproof and ridicule.
The whole world watched the incident, which was a concoction of many different genres of drama, unfolding on the TV.
It began with a sitcom:


An ex-police officer hijacked a tourist bus just to demand a reinstatement. That was a typical topic for a sitcom, which tackles day-to-day problems in a superlatively elaborate style.
What happened next was a farce.

The hostage-taker looked relaxed while the police did not seem to take things too seriously.
Both sides were seen negotiating in a "chit chat" manner at the door of the hijacked bus, interrupted at times by the delivery of dinner and drinking water.

What took place next was an impromptu plot:
Police cops, some fat and some thin, were seen circling around the bus, armed with short or long guns, some in riot gears and bulletproof vests while some in casual plainclothes.
They only had one thing in common: having no idea what do do, like an impromptu plot without a proper sketch and designated roles where the players were made to act whichever way they liked.

What followed then was a black comedy:
The police broke the window, but forgot about the stairs. They went into the bus through the safety door, but very soon retreated. They did not use a modern invention called "explosive" to blow up the door, but a primitive hammer that did not seem to work very effectively.
After that, it was the criminal psychology la Hollywood in play:
The police had the slightest idea what was taking place inside the bus, but thanks to the TV onboard, the hijacker had the government's every single move at his finger tips, including the ill-conceived arrest of his brother which triggered the hijacker to kill and gave the plot a dramatic twist.

In the end, it was most definitely a tragedy.
Nine innocent lives were sacrificed, along with the reputation of Manila.
The grand finale was a satire, a marriage of absurdity, incompetence, ignorance and extreme violence.
The absurd thing was: an ex-police officer resorted to hostage-taking to get his post reinstated. If we go a bit deeper, this could have been a grotesque approach for a ex-police inspector to seek justice for himself under a corrupt regime.

The ignorance and incompetence derive from the adoption of all the fallacious tactics in handling this crisis, showing that the Philippine authorities were low in crisis awareness, judgement capability, effective strategies and command giving.
The violent thing was that a disgruntled ex-police officer took the hostages' lives as a bet in his own pursuit of justice.

The whole thing should not be seen as merely an incidental or isolated case.
While the confrontation between a blood-thirsty killer and an incompetent police squad could happen in Manila, it could also take place anywhere else in this world.
But such tragic eventuality will only occur in a highly inefficient, corrupt and disorderly regime that lacks professionalism and effective leadership.
Only in a mismanaged country where social orders are in tatters will such incidents find a fertile ground to prosper.

STORY INDEX
The Philippine drama

RELATED STORY
Govt didn't ask media to moderate live coverage
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo Thursday said he had raised concern over the live coverage that could jeopardize the safety of the hostages. -Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

HK cancels flights to Laoag and Manila
Travel agencies association also said hotels and resorts reported requests for cancellations by HK and some China tourists, amounting to about 300 rooms in popular destinations. -Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

Mayor ordered hostage-taker's brother arrest: Manila police chief
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered the arrest of the brother of the dismissed policeman who held hostage Hong Kong tourists in Manila that resulted in the deaths, said chief. -Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

Silence in Hong Kong for Manila hostage victims
Three minutes of silence with government work suspended and flags lowered to half-mast at a special ceremony. -AFP

Souvenir photos in front of bus irk HK folk
Filipinos infuriated critics even more by posing in front of the bullet-riddled tourist bus. PDI/ANN

Elsewhere in AsiaOne...
Business: Hostage bloodbath knocks Philippine stocks: analysts



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