Truly a sad day for the Philippines. Senior Inspector Rolando (earlier mentioned as Reynaldo) del Rosario Mendoza probably did not wake up today thinking that this would be his last Monday. While he probably has had a lot of things on his mind recently since his dismissal from police service, he must still not have thought that today would end the way it did.
How could a policeman with 17 service medals, a commendation for meritorious service, and one of the Ten Outstanding Police Officers in the Philippines think of holding a tourist bus with many civilians hostage?
It is truly hard to imagine that this honorable police officer was truly guilty of his extortion charges in 2008. Why, after years and year of honest service, would he risk his name and reputation, not to mention his livelihood, for an alleged extorted amount of P200,000.00? His family was quoted as saying that the case was tied to the higher ups of his police department, but of course, as is always the case in our country, the sad and defenseless little people are the ones who take the fall.
I believe that he would have continued with his life quietly had he not been deprived of his benefits. A true dirty cop would have probably squirreled away millions of pesos by the time he was dismissed, so there would have been no problem with a dismissal from work and a deprivation of retirement benefits. But these benefits were the only thing that the hostage taker was actually after, which again begs the question: maybe he truly was not guilty, and whatever was accused of him ate at him so much that he lost all sense of nobility and decided to fight fire with fire instead.
His death has also exposed the ineptness of the entire Philippine Police. The very dramatic and much controversial forced detainment of the hostage-taker's brother, shown on live television, was what finally made Captain Mendoza snap. The police should have never done that that publicly. Because of what they did, almost dragging Mendoza's brother toward a police car, Captain Mendoza lost all sense of right.
When the driver jumped out of the bus and shouted everyone was dead, the police should have never stormed and shot at the bus as they did. They should have verified first if everyone was indeed dead before assaulting the bus with bullets. As it turned out, there were several hostages who were fine, and I am pretty certain that at least one or two of the dead hostages were killed not by Mendoza but by the bullets of the police assault team.
Why was there no high ranking hostage negotiator? If they had someone with authority talk to Mendoza, things would have been different. Police and military men are trained, almost brainwashed, to respect authority without question. If someone of an important rank had negotiated, things would have probably ended amicably. Now, we will never know.
The mere fact that Captain Mendoza released old and young people early in the hostage-taking drama suggested that he was not a cold-hearted criminal. That should have given the authorities the idea that Captain Mendoza was probably willing to negotiate. Instead, for the rest of the day, the police simply bungled the negotiation and ended the crisis with a dead decorated policeman and several foreign nationals also dead.
The chief police of the Manila area, as well as the PNP chief should both be held accountable for what happened. This should never have happened.
*************************************************************************************
P.S. It is a bit strange that Captain Mendoza's last name is Basque in origin. The Basques are of course known for their strong independent streak as well as their continued struggle for what should be theirs. Also, the name Mendoza means "cold mountain".
28 comments:
haisst. Great . .
mygod, what a shame. this news is all over international news sites/ televisions. pinapakita talagang napakahina ng kapulisan natin sa Pinas. Sa news, lagi mo maririnig: "Isang suspect, PATAY!" Bakit walang naging negotiator nga dito?
his case was taken at ombudsman and he was found guilty. and i do believe that he has no right to do such a cowardly act. if he really wasnt guilty, he could have gone to proper channels like the media or directly to the president to plead for his case.
our PNP was really embarrassing and annoying with their methods dealing this hostage situation. it seems that they dont really know what to do. at one point they tried opening the front door with a sledgehammer and utterly fails. next they tried to tie a rope and pull it with a police vehicle but then fails again. they could have set a small amount of c4 on the door and blasted it. just like what SWAT do in the U.S.
epic fail to the PNP. :(
I totally agree with you. I also sympathize with Mr. Mendoza. He dedicated his whole life serving our country and when he was already close to retiring, he was dismissed without going through the due process. He was made an outcast by his own organization. He was denied his rights as a Filipino and as a servant of our country. I feel sorry He did not know that there is always hope for everybody. In a way, the government's attention is now on his case. But the sad part is that many suffered and lives were lost.
To those who dismissed Mr. Mendoza without due process.... May you always be haunted by your guilt and conscience.
tsk tsk..how sad! coward you say?! dont think so.. Batanguenos are very brave people!kitang kita sa tv kung gano katatanga ang mga pulis maynila!parang mga bakla! i hope magdeclare ng war ang mga clan elders sa batangas!titingan natin kung hangang saan ang ibang lahi..
It's not a matter of "LAHI". makitid din ang utak mo eh no? hnd ang pagiging batangueno nya ang usapan dito. Ang pinaguusapan dito ung mali niya (hostage taker), at ung mas mali pa ng mga pulis.
What a disgraced! Behold!!!! The only christian nation of the far east! kada buwan merong MASSACRE. nice noh?. Sarap sanang mag comment tungkol sa mga POLICE, wag nalang. Ginawa naman nila ang makakaya nila. yun nga lang eh hangang dun lang talaga ang inabot nang kanilang IQ. This is Philippines guyz! di na bago ang ganito.. wew!
@boss12:
ang tapang nga tol! batangueño pala? ahhh.. ala eh a tapang a tao.. sikat nanaman tayo.. sa BUONG MUNDO! ang yabang-yabang mo! sinong gigyerahin mo? tarantado! kaya di makabangon-bangon sa hirap ang Pilipinas dahil sa mga taong katulad mo. kaya naman pala eh.. utak mo kasi malata eh..
well said.
dapat when the 2 negostiators nakipag usap pa sila sa door relaks lang si mendoza wla naka baba ang armas,.. inoverpower na nila,.. pero mga duwag sila,.. parang nagpapapogi lang yong dalawang negostiator,.. wlang inisyative,.. dito sa cagayan de oro,.. ang mga pulis,.. highway robbery,.. at mga holdaper kaya sila ang nabaril ng mga sikyo sa likod ng sm cdo
watch nyo to! OVERKILL @ 0:05 - 0:10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtFszNQ8SpU&feature=channel
grabeh!
galit na galit sila dahil napahiya sila(POLICE)
Hindi ako kumakampi ke Mendoza dahil MALING MALI ang ginawa nya.
pero kung pinaghusayan lang sana ng mga POLICE at NEGOTAITOR ang kanilang trabaho.. di sana ganun ang ending.. camera lang ang hinihingi nag criminal.. di pa ibinigay.. pasikat lang mga POLICE.. ang kinaiinis ko.. dinakip pa ang kapamilya nung criminal in front of the cameras, knowing na merong monitor si Mendoza sa loob. amfufu! yown! nagwala tuloy.. affirmative yun sabi ng driver..nung makita ni Mendoza na kinakaladkad ang kapatid nya, nag amok na xa.. ang bobo talaga ng mga POLICE.. pasikat kasi! sikat na sikat nanaman tayo! woot! proud to be PINOY? san'a mada'paka
This is the first international case that showed the inability and ineptness of the Aquino govt.
Am pretty sure that some of the dead hostage were shot by the police themselves.
Yan problema sa Pinas, pati yung negotiator naka tsinelas lang.
As if, nobody cared kung may mamatay mang tourist or wala.
@boss12
naman!!!tol,,utak ba yan??masama po ngawa ng kababayan mo..di po to payabangan ng lahi...ano ba..mas lalo masisira ang pilipinas sa attitude mo!!!!hoy!!!!gising!!!!!
Para sa'kin siguro lahat may mistake. They let this happen na pwede naman sanang napag usapan na walang dahas na nagyari. Everything happens for a reason and I pity those na lalong nagpalala ng situation... And sorry to hear na maraming nasaktan na di naman sana dapat umabot pa sa ganon... Lets just pray para sa ikatatahimik ng ating bansa rather than giving bad comments pa na lalaong ikakasira pa nating lahat.. Lets have faith and lets pray for their Mendoza's soul.
I agree! lets just pray for d best! we cannot blame each other because we were not there! Lets just cross fingers that peace will be in the heart of every Filipino. Blaming anyone will be of no help! It will not bring back lives that were lost. Its just sad that those in the authority and in the government will learn their lessons after the what happened.
Capt. Mendoza was, according to one of the hostages, "unfairly dismissed" not for 200 thousand pesos but for a measley 20 thousand pesos which he vehemently denied till the end.
This is not to condone what he did, but isn't he an unfortunate victim of "selective justice"? Why can't "justice" be as swift in other graft/ corruption cases such as Jocjoc's fertilizer scam???
looking at the situation, it is possible that the higher ups want mendoza's head even if it means killing him and made some stories behind it that it is an accident or whatever they may think to cover the real issues... it is a bad move for those people who might think that in order to stay in their position they do as they please... that is to think that is it okay to trust the police nowadays if the laws are being neglected or being used as a means to satisfy their wants... if that is the case let the international police handle this issue... it's because the police might pass their mistakes to the media... we do not what really happens inside the bus unless the hostages speak the truth behind the hostage drama...
If you watch the whole scene magada sana ung ending but sa kabobohan ng mga pulis at mga opisyal ng manila they did not think na ung pag arrest at paghihirap ng family ng hostage taker will be the hint para mag wala ung ung hostage taker. and besides kung titignan mo ung scene di na sniper ung hostage taker na baril nalang cguro sa sarili. ung mga bobo at duwag na pnp ay gumawa nalang ng kwento dahil wala naman clear shot ng camera dun sa pag kakabaril. ang dapat sisihin jan ung nag utos ng pag dakip sa pamilya, maybe it's mayor lim dahil di pa siya humaharap sa news. and also ung PANOT nating presidente eh walang nagawa he just watch habang may hostage taking. What a VERY lousy government and sectors we have.
I agree with the author. matino naman kausap yung tao nung umpisa. and to realize, pa-retire na yung tao, sa bente mil (20k), sisirain nya yun e magkano makukuha nya pag retire nya? dont think so. and it is simply weighing ano mas mabigat, yung harapin yung kino-contest nung tao o yung buhay ng mga hostages (plus risk ng international na kahihiyan)? at para namna sa mga taong pilit at gagawin lahat ng paraan at dahilan para i-connect lahat ng masasamang scenarios sa pinas sa presidente, t*****a nyo, umalis kayo ng pilipinas. kaya nga may pulis, sundalo, doktor etc eh. san yung PNP chief? yung mayor? ombudsman? tapos presidente pa hinanap nyo. mga bobo. (note: hindi po ako maka-aquino)
THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS…What a sad day for Capt. Mendoza and to his family? All he wanted is fair trial with his case but things end up with killing. It is true that what he did was not good but i do think that things could turn out better than what happened if there was a negotiator or if the policemen really know how to handle hostage crisis as they were trying to tell us. Just try to think of it, he never hurt anyone prior to the arrest of his brother that triggered him to fire a gun that hurt and killed some of the tourist. Anyone who saw his relatives arrested by the policemen could have done the same thing. Is this how our policemen handle a situation like that? How lousy, right? It’s not because some from your upper position told you to arrest his brother, you need to do it.
On the other way around, the arrest of his brother could be a plot of the policemen to stop everything and let him come out in the bus but it’s not the way it was… Come on! WHERE IS THE MIND OF THE POLICEMEN? Maybe next time, you need to USE YOUR HEAD NOT THE HEAD BETWEEN YOUR TWO LEGS.
If in every hostage situation, our policemen will do the same thing maybe they should be called “FOOLISHMEN” instead policemen, the TURMOIL MAKER, instead the PEACE MAKER.
My sympathy to Capt. Mendoza, a person from the beginning denied for due process and now he was denied for his life. You may not attain justice when you were alive but I do hope wherever you are right now in your journey, you may now be given what you were longing for… TRUE DUE PROCESS.
what happened with the law if even if the so called due process isn't even existed on the first place. just because the police has the power it doesn't mean that they have to use it for their STUPIDITY!!! even worse the president did not even moved for the long period of time the hijacking incident happen... what would happen to the philippines???
Capt. Mendoza, may you rest in peace now. If you did not recieve justice in life, may you get it in your death. Condolence to the whole family.
Please do not forget the lady hostage who lost her husband and 3 children. "Ma'am we hope you can find it in your heart someday to forgive my country, for the stupidity of the bungling idiots of so called negotiators/in charge, and for our president who chose to stay on the sidelines".
It's really a sad event for us all Filipinos, for the death of those involved, especially the innocent ones (our foreign visitors), for the very bad reputation it afforded us due to incompetence of policemen and officials who handled (and supposedly the one to handle) the situation and for the utter disregard to hostages' lives of our undisciplined mediamen.
My officemates, friends and myself just wonder why police authorities let the mediamen televised/broadcast live the arrest of Capt. Mendoza brother while common sense dictate that the hostages' lives will be greatly endangered by the action. The same reason why mediamen esp. their supervisors/mgt. should on the first place inhibit themselves from doing it.
We wonder if in case a son/daughter or close relative/s of influential newsmen/network biggies like Ted Failon, Julius Babao, Mel Tiangco, Arnold Clavio,Charo Santos etc. are one of the hostages, will they let their colleague to do the same? How about the cameramen and field reporters, if their love ones were there as hostages, are they going to cover the arrest live as they did?
I hope mediamen (who seems to be always self-righteous) practice SYMPHATY in doing our jobs. I said SYMPHATY because I don't believe they didn't know, they just didn't care.
BULOK ANG SISTEMA NG ATING PAMAHALAAN YAN ANG TOTOO, PAPUGI POINTS KC ANG PNP EH,,, DAPAT SIGURO PANAHON NA PARA MAGING MATALINO ANG PNP SA PAG HIRED NG POLICE OFFICER,, DAPAT YONG EQUIPPED NG KNOWLEGE TALAGA... MADAMING CRIMINOLOGIST BAKIT KARAMIHAN NA HINAHIRED NILA MGA NAPOLOCOM AT CIVIL SERVICE PASSERS, ANONG ALAM NG MGA YON, PNP VERSOSA AND NAPOLCOM TANGA BA KAYO?BAN
very well said.. nasabi mo lahat kung anu rin ang opinyon ko.
hinde aabot ng gnun karahas kung nagawan ng wastong paraan ng mga otoridad. Asan na ang matuwid na landas na sinasabi ni p-noy?
baket ang inosente ang nadidiin at ang mga baluktot ang nagwawagi.
nakki simpyatya ako kay capt mendoza.
for me he's a hero in a improper way,time and place.isa siya sa naging biktima ng political injustices sa pilipinas.
kelan pa tayo matututo?
d nyu sila masisi dahil kulang cla sa training kc ang pera sanang png training kinukurakot ng iba, sana tulungan nalng ntin ang mga taong makalimot sa mapait na karanasan. gnawa nman nla ang lahat ng makakaya nla eh! at sana sa mga mataas na mga opisyal ng mga pulis at gobyerno sana piliin nyung mabuti ang taong magsisilbi sa mga tao pra wla ng mangyari n katulad nto! ^_^
d nman tama ung ky mendoza kc nkagawa nman sya ng kasalanan,ang BATAS ay BATAS! dapat nting sundin un para maging tahimik ang mundo ^_^ let's pray n sana wag n tong mangyari!!!!!
Post a Comment