Who will not be saddened and disappointed with the infamous hostage taking drama that happened in the Philippines last August 23, 2010? This incident had a big impact in the Philippines. In fact, I consider this as another slap on our country.
I am a Filipino and I love this country but I can’t help myself not to feel embarrassed on how the authorities handled the whole situation. Why? First, there was only one hostage taker, and how many policemen were present during that time? It was very obvious that our policemen lacked the training, evidently unequipped and highly incompetent. Second, I would like to criticize the role of the media. As a democratic country, citizens have the right to be informed and I believe in the right of free press but I would like to emphasize their limits. The hostage taker is the mere beneficiary of the all the information that the media broadcasted to the public. It is their duty to relay information but they should know their limitations. Next, we could have spared the lives of all the Hong Kong citizens if only the SWAT, the PNP and the government didn’t mess up. My analysis to this one has something to do with the “democracy” that the Philippines has. The growing public concern about the government and media’s compliance with democratic rules are undermining the legitimacy of the freedom. I would not be surprised if the public lose faith in the integrity of the government’s aims for this country.
People say, “The damage has been done”. It only means that people wants to move forward and not to point fingers to anyone. What I know is that ROLANDO MENDOZA is the one primarily to be blamed for this incident. I cannot blame the decisions and actions that the Hong Kong government did. Moreover, I pray that the Philippine government will be able to responsibly learn from this incident in all aspects and I would like the other countries to know that to harm anyone is never and will never be the intention of the “entire” Filipino people.
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