The Philippine Online Chronicles

As if that video --- circulating worldwide via You Tube --- of a local policeman tugging violently at the private parts of a suspected thief during an interrogation, wasn't enough of an embarrassment for this country’s justice system, along comes another blow to the already sagging Pinoy pride --- this time involving not just another policeman but innocent tourists and the entire Manila Police department as well, and on prime time television to boot.

Confusion. Chaos. Mayhem. These best describe what happened on live television that very day. What was to be a straightforward hostage rescue attempt turned into a textbook case of what NOT to do in handling a crisis situation. Looking at the bright side of things though, future generations of SWAT forces around the world will have the Philippines to thank for the valuable lesson.

Amidst all that idiocy, the tragedy in Luneta deeply impacted on the ordinary Pinoy, perhaps much more than the Maguindanao massacre did last year.  As one of my blog buddies and Facebook friends commented, “Those who died are Chinese. But he killed us Filipinos too. A part of our humanity was butchered that day.”

While the people of Hong Kong grieve and shout in anger over the senseless death of their compatriots, Juan dela Cruz, still reeling from disasters past, now has to contend with the ire of just about everyone in his neighborhood, particularly from the neighbor just across the China Sea, where a multitude of Juan’s kababayans live and work, and whose money partly fuels the country’s economic engine. The promise of a better tomorrow for many OFWs in the former crown colony have now turned into a nightmare of sorts, as uncertainty over their future hangs like Damocles’s sword over their head.

Shame, embarrassment, as well as frustration, presently run deep within the fiber of every Filipino’s body, for the tragedy not only showed the world that our government is helpless and inept in the face of crisis but also despoiled one of the country's most sacred landmarks.  One simply has to read online forums and comment threads to know that this indeed is one of the lowest points in our country’s history, and as the swaggering senator and presidential sister painfully found out, this is not a great time to be a Filipino.

Surreal as it was, the drama should have ended long before things got bloody and yet, perhaps due to the absence of mind (as well as absence of an authority figure) among those involved in the rescue, or perhaps due to the meddling of the hostage-taker's brother, depending on whose side you believe, it dragged on for almost 12 painful hours.

What happened on live television that night was nothing like what you would have expected from a supposedly well-trained police force. The top cops of Manila, resplendent in their well-pressed uniform, seemed at a loss (at least from where I was sitting) about how to handle the worsening situation, and yet earlier they were giving interviews left and right, confident that everything was under control --- that was until they made the mistake of letting the hostage-taker’s brother into the negotiation.

The actual assault --- using of all things, a sledgehammer --- took so long that I almost fell asleep on the sofa waiting for the ending to the drawn-out hostage drama. The police claimed they did a practice assault on a bus several times and yet during the actual siege, when the proverbial poop hit the fan and all hell broke loose, the cops were running around like a bunch of chickens without a head. It’s one for the books and it’s a certainty that the tragedy that was the Luneta bus siege will make it to list of worst rescue attempts in history in the next edition of The Book of Lists.

"They (critics) are all in the gallery, watching. They should try being in the line of fire and let us see how they react," says National Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz. True, and I admit I too was one of those armchair strategists who heavily criticized the poor handling of the situation. After all, I have not stared death in the eyes through the barrel of a loaded M-16 rifle like any seasoned lawman. Then again, isn't that the reason why SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) units exist in the first place?  As the cream of the crop of the entire police department they are among the “elite” who are specially trained (and certainly well-paid) to react to all kinds of high-risk situation, thus putting themselves directly in the line of fire so that others may still live to see tomorrow.

Inscribed on the granite epitaph in front of the Manila Police Department Headquarters on United Nations Avenue, Manila, is the borrowed epigram honoring the bravery of the 300 Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae: “Go spread the word, tell the passersby, that in this little world, men know how to die.” Big words to borrow indeed, and yet we hardly saw any of that happening during the siege.

It is interesting to note, however, that there indeed was a unit more than capable of handling the crisis. Senior Insp. Jonathan Dela Cruz, a US trained SWAT commander, was supposed to have taken command of the MPD SWAT on August 23, but a petition by some  members—those who did not belong to his trusted circle—succeeded in retaining Chief Insp. Santiago Pascual as commander and keeping Dela Cruz and his team out of the action.

In the end, internal politics did him in, said an unidentified police officer of Dela Cruz’s exclusion. Sadly, it is also what may have sealed the fates of the hostages inside the bus. Politics, it seems, will be the death of us all.

The media themselves weren't blameless either. In their zeal, protocols were broken and guidelines for reporting were thrown out the window that day, as the free-for-all rush for that precious scoop turned the entire incident into a three-ring circus, with the whole world watching in disbelief. Furthermore, their live coverage of the arrest of the brother, many believe, made an already bad situation worse, and it may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. The sight of his family members being manhandled by his fellow policemen was probably too much for the troubled and heavily-armed man to bear, and it made him flip his wig, so to speak, resulting in the deaths of some of the hostages. Perhaps they (the reporters covering the scene) ought to take time to go over this piece before covering an ongoing hostage-taking incident.

P-Noy’s actions, or inactions, hadn’t helped either. His whereabouts were unknown the entire day while the drama --- one that could ignite a diplomatic crisis if not nipped in the bud --- was being played out for the whole world to see. The diplomatic faux pas that continued well after the incident died down certainly put the entire Aquino government in the limelight, and has raised serious doubts here and abroad on his capacity as a leader, and whether the Filipinos have once again cast their lot on the wrong man.

Trust the ordinary Pinoys, too, to turn what is now labeled as a national shame into something like a sideshow --- like it was the most natural thing to do in the world. Just a day after the carnage, the bus, or rather, the “death bus,” had become a must-see and must-visit for many of the city’s curious and lovers of the macabre who flocked to the site, hoping to get a souvenir photo of the bus. Joining this mad frenzy of “kodakan (picture-taking)” with the bus were some of the very people tasked to keep the security around the perimeter: the cops. Scruples or sensitivity, it seems, does not rhyme with “Pinoyness,” not when bragging rights is concerned.

Unless the newly minted government of P-Noy acts swiftly and judiciously to diffuse the diplomatic blunder, no amount of victory in the boxing ring by Pacquiao or the inclusion of a young Pinay in “Glee” will ever raise the stature of the Filipino in the world stage. Contrary to what many think, memories are not short, especially when they are as bitter as  last Tuesday's.

Sadly, as sure as the sun still rises in these islands, fingers will be pointed in all directions and blame laid on just about everyone who participated, from the police to the swarm of media people present; more so now that the upper and lower houses --- whose talent for finger-pointing knows no bounds --- decided to move in on the action (hey, any publicity is good publicity, right?). Heads will roll for sure, at least to appease the growing sentiment against the country and its people, but whose head will be offered for sacrifice is still up for grabs. It has always been like that and will stay that way for God knows how long. That is the Pinoy way...

Photo: “Jose Rizal Execution Site (Manila)” by Shubert Ciencia, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

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Forty-something and single, the author has long detached himself from the corporate world where, for nearly twenty years, he used to work as a sales and marketing executive for a well-known clothing manufacturer. Since 2002, he's been doing free-lance consultative work in the same capacity during his corporate years. Writing, on the other hand, was a hobby he indulged in five years ago when, out of boredom, he started writing down his thoughts in a blog, which continues to this day.