Some were saying that the gruesome ending of the hostage taking in Quirino Grandstand in Manila by a former PNP Capt. Rolando Mendoza was the media’s fault. It was the media’s fault because they wanted scoop. If the media did not show footages of the hostage takers brother being arrested he wouldn’t be agitated to fire his weapons that lead to the deaths of 7 hostages. (Manila tourist bus hostage taking time line)
I beg to disagree, its not the media’s fault but the PNP, MPD SWAT and the operatives fault because they obviously didn’t have any plan on how to get Capt. Mendoza out of the bus and assure safety of the hostages. (National Police Procedures During Hostage Taking Incidents)
The media was there not to get scoop, they were there to keep an eye. They were doing their job. (But of course this international journalism guidelines in covering Hostage-Taking Crises, Prison Uprisings, Terrorist Actions does not apply in the Philippine journalist, not everyone knows this guidelines, seriously)
If not for the media we wouldn’t witness how untrained and incompetent our PNP, SWAT operatives are in situations like this.
Now we know where our authorities fail, why most hostage situations fail because our police enforcer are so inexperienced, untrained, unprepared and unequipped.
Imagine going to the bus without having any ladder, tear gas, flash light, gas mask or anything to protect themselves. Just a mallet to smash the bus windows and doors. What a big joke. What a big fail!
Here was a chance to disable the guy that could have prevented the gruesome ending. What was the plan of the MPD SWAT? I doubt if they have any plans at all. What incompetent people. If the photographer was able to take this nice shot the snipper could have disabled this guys legs!
Mendoza was completely armed when he entered the bus bearing Hong Kong nationals. He know what he was doing. The NPD SWAT was totally clueless.
Even at the end of the situation when the hostage taker was taken down by a snipper and declared dead. There was no crowd control, by standers freely got in the premises. What a shame!
Are our police just trained to control crown during inauguration and State of the Nation Address of the Philippine President? Or our crowd control is as bad as our flood control program. Evidence were already tampered they can say anything they want.
32 Comments
@ melovesflying I don’t think Philippine journalist follow this guidelines or are informed of this guidelines 🙁 and the editors here would tell you to stay safe but keep an eye.
@ Um_not_really I know who you are your IP shows, anyway they are not heartless it just happens your on the other side of the world so you don’t know what they are doing but all saw how incompetent the police were at the very beginning there was no cordon or anything to keep the vicinity safe from news-thirsty people not just reporters (and what you call social media whores)
what happened on the hostage taker’s brother is entirely illegal,where’s the ethic?He could be an instrument to solve the hostage taking and could have saved the lives of those in the bus.In situation like this,no one could help and trust with but the members of the family.One more thing,what’s on the mind of the one who sent the letter from the ombudsman?actually these are two major factor that motivated the hostage taker to make a move.Move that cost the lives of some in the bus..I observed that some of the policemen don’t have proper gear and seemed unprepared.Please follow what happened to the brother.Indeed he’s human and has rights as well.They need not to drag him!
you do know that when the hostage taker’s brother got arrested on national TV he suddenly went in a shooting rampage right?
anyway, hostage crisis + incompetent police + heartless, news-thirsty rabid reporters masking greed with “honest journalism” = people dead
I’m sorry but I beg to differ. Mendoza was being civil earlier. Negotiations were good. The trigger was when media showed his brother being taken in. He panicked and ran amock.
And I quote “Challenge any gut reaction to “go live” from the scene of a hostage-taking crisis, unless there are strong journalistic reasons for a live, on-the-scene report. Things can go wrong very quickly in a live report, endangering lives or damaging negotiations. Furthermore, ask if the value of a live, on-the-scene report is really justifiable compared to the harm that could occur.” – Guidelines for Covering Hostage-Taking Crises, Prison Uprisings, Terrorist Actions
I ask you now, what are the strong journalistic reasons for a live, on-the-scene report, knowing that Mendoza was seeing everything live on the bus’s tv?
kudos for this blog!