Calbayog City, Philippines - A week after the hostage tragedy that put to international spotlight, once again, our departmental ineptitude -euphemism for fatal stupidity- the brouhaha continues as expected. I don't mind the Hong Kong people berating and blaming us, it's understandable, and we haven't stopped inflicting more pain- see those idiots who pose for pictures of the disgraced bus wherein lives were senselessly lost? My God, to think that some are police; whatever happened to their neurological test? But the the rest non-uniformed are just as callous and dummy. Then there's the reported mislabeling of caskets causing them to reach the wrong grieving parties. When are we gonna stop?
My heart goes to those who lost their loved ones, as well as those who survived who now have to slog their way through emotional healing. I can only imagine how difficult it is, and I hope those who have the scientific know-how of dealing with this offer online community support for the survivors and the family of the victims. The least we can do as a people is to offer them our genuine compassion, time, effort, and know-how to see them through this difficult situation they involuntarily find themselves in.
That our tourism industry will take, or has already taken the backlash is one thing we have to deal with. We have to tread together towards reparation. I still believe that the ensuing actions of the Hong Kong government are an expression of deep and justified protest and disappointment over the handling of the crisis.
Some echo the concern that Filipino tourists may be treated differently by the receiving Hong Kong immigration, may be made to spend unnecessary longer time answering more questions than usual. That overseas Filipino workers may be subjected to hostility or violence by some zealous Hong Kong employers who might take it out on them. These remain to be seen, and I hope that humanity reign over everyone; that amid the confusion and passion over the issue understand that this is not something any Filipino citizen would have wanted to happen if they had control over it.
At the home front, though, it is irritating to hear people blaming President Noynoy for the tragic end to the crisis. For Christ's sakes, what has the President to do with that? Hold your horses! Let us not forget that the proximate cause is the utter inefficiency of the Police as I pointed out in my earlier post.
Was it wrong for the President to be optimistic as he was being briefed of "favorable" development in the negotiation? No! There's nothing wrong with optimism unless you have nothing to pin it on. In this case, until it took the turn for the worse, everyone who monitored the event had valid reasons, except for the long period (11 hours) of the negotiation, to be optimistic. It's true, however, that optimism does not warrant complacency, you have to remain firmly on guard: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Now, could the President have joined the Police in the assault when the inevitable became apparent? No, but the Police can, and as a matter of duty, should with "Gendarmeriely" precision or so we hoped. The President has said that he had been monitoring the situation from the outset in a remote location and out of sight of the hostage-taker, which is the security protocol binding the president. He had done what every prudent president would do, nothing less.
The buck should fall and stop on the lap of PNP NCRPO Chief General Leocadio Santiago, or as far high as PNP Chief Director General Jesus A Verzosa, it is their department that is responsible for the fiasco. The President inherited an inept and corrupt Police. Without a doubt, such glaring inefficiency is a result of a systemic problem, a labyrinth of corruption in the department. Has anybody bothered to evaluate -I'm taking this opportunity to address it to the President- the training that our police personnel are undergoing? I have heard of sordid stories of train-trimming (sounds better than cutting corners) to cut some PP$$ off the budget, and... well, save?
Do you see where this whole ineptitude thing is pointing? The premise is the President could not be responsible for the sad state of the Police with barely months into office. In contrast, the last nine years were under the watch of GMA, where uniformed personnel-biggies were showered inordinate and undeserved executive favors. What training? They wined and dined, and now this is what we got. They've earned for themselves their new moniker SWAT = Sorry We Aren't Trained, and the dialect won't be outdone with its own version: SWAT = Sori Wala Akong Training.
The media? Well, what can you do? It's the nature of the
So we all had better stopped the blame game and the idiocy, collect ourselves, and do what needs to be done. We all have a huge collective stake here. This could yet seriously retard our tourism growth, if not set it years back putting the department's efforts to naught if this is not straightened out at once. And the implication on business and jobs, simply scary.
Let's start with President Noynoy: what's keeping General Santiago in his post? Need people ask? Shake the whole organization upside down and hope to see who's got his uniform tightly fastened, maybe he could lead a renewed, ad nauseam, Police force.
This pains everyone, but I'd always say I'd live and die with our Police (and Armed Forces for that matter). The human factor is no lesser than any in the world, but they're sucked up to ills of the system. I sigh with pity and regret to see those idealistic graduates of our PNPA and PMA because time and again, I have yet to be wrong of my doubts on their resolve to stand up to the folly and establish and sustain a modern and respectable Police and Armed Forces. However, HOPE springs eternal.
