Palace: No intention to downplay Manila hostage crisis

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang said yesterday there was no intention to downplay the Manila hostage crisis on Aug. 23, 2010 that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, saying the government had been working to improve relations with China since the incident happened.       

Hong Kong had imposed a black travel warning against the Philippines following the incident, but deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said reforms and measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of tourists. 

She said policemen were patrolling tourist spots, particularly in Metro Manila. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had also expressed regrets over the incident on many occasions.            

“I did read the report that the families (of the victims) handed over a letter to the post in Hong Kong. We will have to wait for word from the DFA as to their recommendation on that,” Valte said.        

She said it was not true that candles were not even lit for the repose of the souls of the victims, who were killed in a tourist bus at the Quirino Grandstand.       

“I believe there were some citizens who went to the Grandstand to light candles and to say their prayers. But rest assured that they are not being forgotten or anything to that effect,” Valte said. Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is further improving its equipment and capability to prevent a repeat of the hostage fiasco that left eight Hong Kong tourists and hostage taker Rolando Mendoza dead. 

“We are studying on further improving our equipment and capability enhancement program. Slowly but surely, we managed to acquire more equipment and conducted training for our personnel,” said PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr.       

After the Luneta hostage crisis, Cerbo said the PNP had started reviewing the police operations procedure (POP) relative to the handling of hostage taking incidents. He added that the PNP has addressed the weaknesses of the police force in dealing with the issue.

The PNP allocated almost P170 million last year for the procurement of equipment for the elite Crisis Action Force (CAF), which was activated on June 29, 2011. It is composed of 154 police officers, including 11 police officials, who graduated from specialized unit interoperability training in Silang, Cavite.

Members of CAF are considered the “best of the best” and come from the Special Action Force, Aviation and Maritime Police units.

The police force under former PNP chief Raul Bacalzo had put in place measures to prevent lapses that contributed to the death of the tourists. 

The PNP has also published three handbooks which serve as a comprehensive guide for hostage negotiators. – Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe