Survivors of Luneta hostage crisis seek audience with Noy

HONG KONG – Almost a year after the hostage bloodbath that killed eight tourists and injured seven others in Manila, survivors of the tragedy and the family of a slain tour guide have expressed interest in meeting with President Aquino.

Survivors Joe Chan Kwok-chu, Yik Siu-ling and Lee Ying-chuen; and Tse Chi-kin and Tse Chi-hang, brothers of tour guide Masa Tse Ting-chunn, relayed the request to the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong over the weekend.

Consul General Claro Cristobal confirmed yesterday that the group’s letter has been forwarded to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office in Manila. Cristobal, however, declined to be interviewed on the matter.

The group is set to fly to Manila on Sunday, two days before the first anniversary of the hostage tragedy on Aug. 23, 2010 that strained Philippine and Hong Kong relations.

The group wants the Philippine government to make an official apology, provide reasonable compensation, punish officials who were responsible for the bungled rescue operations, and implement measures to ensure the safety of tourists.

“It has been almost one year and the Philippine government has done absolutely nothing to settle this case,” Tse Chi-kin said.

Several Filipino police officials were relieved after the hostage crisis that also left hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, dead.

Mendoza, dismissed from the police force in 2009 for extortion, commandeered a Hong Thai Travel tourist bus outside Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila and held hostage 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipino guides for several hours in front of the Quirino Grandstand in the Rizal Park.

The suspect, armed with an M-16 rifle and a pistol, had released several hostages before the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Manila police launched a rescue operation that led to the deaths of Mendoza and some of the hostages.

Police hostage negotiators said Mendoza turned violent due to frustrations after failing to get his demand to be reinstated to the police force.

Mendoza also reportedly started shooting the hostages when he saw on television inside the bus, his brother Senior Police Officer 2 Gregorio Mendoza being arrested.

Gregorio was accosted for failing to help in the negotiations.

The survivors and relatives of the victims of the hostage crisis also asked Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to keep his promise to help them push for compensation and apology from the Philippine government.

Democratic Party legislator James To Kun-sun accompanied the group that earlier had applied for legal aid to sue the Philippine government.

Last March, the Hong Kong Coroner’s Court ruled that the incident constituted “unlawful killings.”

After a 28-day inquest, the court ruled that the Manila police officers contributed to the bloodbath by failing to stop other people, including reporters, from communicating with the hostage taker.

The court also ruled that the negotiations broke down when the police arrested Mendoza’s younger brother Gregorio.

In September last year, the Incident Investigation Review and Review Committee (IIRC) led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima concluded that the hostage taker killed all the victims.

The IIRC recommended administrative and criminal charges against a number of officials, including Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. But President Aquino ordered only the filing of administrative charges against seven officials, and criminal charges against Gregorio.

Since Aug. 23, the Hong Kong Security Bureau has enforced a black outbound travel alert (OTA) against the Philippines and advised its citizens to “avoid all travel” to the Philippines.

“In light of the incident in Manila, people are concerned about the personal safety of Hong Kong residents when traveling in the Philippines. We will closely monitor the improvement measures to be taken by the Philippine authorities to restore the confidence of Hong Kong residents to travel to the country,” a security bureau spokesman said.

PNP more prepared

In Manila, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is now more capable of handling hostage-taking incidents.

PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said police have put up measures to prevent lapses that had led to the hostage incident’s tragic end.

He cited the creation of the Crisis Action Force (CAF) tasked with tackling hostage situations.

The CAF, activated last June 29, is composed of 154 police officers, including 11 police officials, who graduated from specialized unit training at the PNP Academy in Silang, Cavite.

The police unit is considered the “best of the best” of the Special Action Force and the aviation and maritime police units.

Director Leocadio Santiago of the PNP-Directorate for Operations, said that with the CAF, the PNP is ready to deal with crisis situations and prevent bloodshed.

“The PNP is now more than ready than before, (though) our SAF was ready (at that time of the Quirino hostage taking), but it’s the process (that has to be addressed),” said Santiago, who was then the chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office.

Santiago was apparently referring to the SAF agents’ not being mobilized to conduct the rescue operation despite their presence around the Quirino Grandstand long before Mendoza went on a killing rampage. For still unknown reason, the Manila police insisted on employing its ill-equipped SWAT team for the rescue operation.