HOSTAGED

Yesterday, 23 August 2010 will be another day that will claim a red mark the in Philippines' history. The world witnessed how irresponsibility, selfishness and cowardice of one person resulted in the loss of lives of innocent people who knew nothing of his problems and grievances towards the government whom he thought have unjustly treated him. Those people went to The Philippines to enjoy much deserve holiday, it was a hard earned one. It was so sad that it ended in a tragic way. A cold blooded murder. Senseless, not even his death can justify and rectify what he had done. I do not rejoice in his death, but the moment he took justice in his hand he was full aware that he will eventually end up that way.

As i watched the news, i can not comprehend how a single man could carry out such a dispeccable act in the heart of a busy metropolis and all the police force could do nothing but just wait. For almost 12 hours he put everyone including the world in a standstill, and what is more disturbing is that the group handling the crisis is considered to be the elite unit of the Philippine National Police- the SWAT TEAM. However, judging the way they acted, they seem like new graduates from the police academy. I am sorry to say these but many Chinese while watching the live feed, called them stupid and a bunch of idiots. Harsh word, given the situation that the culprit is making the captives as his human shield. But the length of time that the stand off transpired will made one ask if they know what they are doing, and why did it take that long before they could figure out what to do?


What can be gauged from what happened? I deduced them to the following: a) the police lack the necessary training to handle such situation fast and effectively, of course, lives of hostages will always be in jeopardy but how to avoid such situation must be looked into. b) the police force do not have proper equipment to carry out their duty, they are the bastion of peace and security, how can they carry out their duty if they can not even assure themselves that they are well armed and protected to go in the line of duty? They are there to serve and protect, so i think it is just fitting to provide the necessary equipment at par with those of their opponent at least. The government must allocate appropraite funds for the needed equipment. It is like wishing that the sun will not rise tommorow but the officials should set aside Selfishness and use the fund where it is due.

The aftermath of the incident yesterday is irreversible, the lost lives can no longer be brought back, my heart goes out to the families of those who were killed, but it will be unfair if the OFWs mostly domestic helpers in Hongkong who knew nothing of what that person did, will bear the consequences. ( i ententionally dont mention his name as i dont want to sound like glorifying him). They are in Hongkong to earn decent money for their families so it is unjust to vent out the outrage to them.



The Philippines in her desire to move forward, to paint a good image as one of the prime tourist destination in SouthEast Asia, will forever be held hostaged by crimes, insurgencies, CORRUPTION and other unpleasant news unfolded in the international media everyday. Who is to blame? No one but our inability to rise up against the situation, our divisiveness and selfish desire to enrich ourselves in whatever cost is the root of the issues.

Human right is the very essence of man, deny it and you denied one's humanity, the hostage taker being a former protector of human rights as per his oath, surely knew this. Yes, he has all the right to fight what he think he rightfully deserve but he should have taken into consideration others' right to enjoy the things they have worked for and the chance to enjoy their lives.