EDITORIAL - Better prepared?

After German police failed to rescue Israeli athletes and coaches who were held hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September during the Munich Summer Olympics in 1972, the red-faced German government resolved to be better prepared for counterterrorism operations.

Out of that international embarrassment, which led to the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches, the elite counterterrorism and special operations unit of the German federal police, the Grenzschutzgruppe 9 or GSG 9, was born. Since its creation in 1973, the GSG 9 has gained international renown for successful operations against hijackers, hostage takers and other terrorists.

After the Manila police Special Weapons and Tactics team became a global laughingstock for its grossly bungled response to the hostage crisis in Rizal Park, what did the government do? A fact-finding body was formed, which did a thorough job and submitted recommendations to President Aquino, many of which were ignored. Criminal charges were filed against the brother of the hostage taker. The Manila police chief lost his post and the SWAT team was grounded. The deputy ombudsman accused by the hostage taker of extorting from him has been fired.

The Metro Manila police commander at the time, Leocadio Santiago, was promoted. Now operations chief of the Philippine National Police, he says the PNP still lacks equipment to respond to a hostage crisis similar to the one that claimed the lives of eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage taker in Rizal Park a year ago today.

We’re still waiting for the creation of a team with a capability that can come close to that of the German unit. Only another serious hostage situation will show if the SWAT team of what was renamed “Manila’s Funniest” can now force open a bus door without a sledgehammer flying out of a cop’s hands or hostages getting killed in the process. It also remains to be seen whether the PNP has learned better crowd control, including handling of mass media, or if it has better hostage negotiators. Reforms in the special police units must be unrelenting. The next time a major hostage crisis erupts, the PNP must elicit praise, not laughter.