Noting that media may have unwittingly fueled the tension that led to the bloody end of Monday's hostage crisis in Manila, the Department of Interior and Local Government is eying protocols for coverage in similar situations.
DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said the live coverage, seen on a television set inside the bus, robbed police of the “element of surprise" in dealing with hostage-taker, former Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza.
"Ang protocol na susundin, siguro sa susunod makuha natin ang cooperation ng lahat upang makabwelo ang pulis. Sa pangyayari kahapon di sila nakabwelo alam ng hostage-taker ang nangyayari sa kanya. Nagdagdag ng nagdagdag ang [komplikasyon] ng problema, but I know this should not happen again," Robredo said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
(In dealing with situations like last night’s hostage drama, some protocols must be followed. We must get media's cooperation so police can have a leeway to making their moves. In Monday's incident, police did not get that leeway).
He said he may ask media outlets to consider the safety of the hostages in their coverage.
"We may have to talk to media to take into consideration the interest of the safety of the hostages, so our police will have the element of surprise," he said.
He noted that negotiations had been going smoothly, until Mendoza saw police preparations on the ground through the television set inside.
Mendoza was eventually killed in the incident, along with a number of hostages. As of Tuesday morning, the death toll climbed to 10, including the hostage-taker.
"There was a television set inside the bus. Unfortunately, Mendoza got a glimpse of what the police were up to. So we lost our element of surprise," Robredo said.
Robredo also cited his conversations with at least three of the hostages Monday night, where they said Mendoza became agitated after seeing what was happening on TV.
"Kausap ko ang tatlong hostages, kagabi ikinukwento nila noong na-agitate nang nakita ang nangyari sa TV. Parang biglang nagbago ang pagtrato sa kanila ng hostage taker. At first the hostage taker assured them nothing will happen, biglang nagbago ang timpla (I talked to three of the hostages Monday night. They were saying the hostage taker became agitated after seeing what happened on TV. The hostage taker suddenly became hostile toward them, after he assured them earlier that nothing will happen)," he said.
In a separate interview on dzRH radio, he likened the incident to a basketball case where "everything was going smoothly until the last quarter."
On the other hand, Robredo said there is a need to strengthen crowd control, adding the police are reviewing other aspects of Monday's incident.
"I think we could have done better," he said.
'Initial findings'
In an interview on dwIZ radio, Metro Manila police chief Director Leocadio Santiago Jr. admitted that while they were prepared to hold long hours of negotiations to protect the hostages, tensions flared when police tried to arrest Mendoza’s brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza.
He said, the attempt to arrest SPO2 Mendoza suddenly changed the complexion of the crisis, with hostage-taker Mendoza flaring up.
“Our sequence analysis showed the attempt to arrest SPO2 Mendoza was a factor in hostage-taker Mendoza’s flaring up and change of disposition," he said.
“Yun nga po ang sudden deterioration biglang ni-report sa amin na binaril ang hostages, yan ang naging trigger para sa tactical options (When the incident deteriorated suddenly and Mendoza started firing, that was the trigger for us to take tactical options)," he added.
On the other hand, Santiago admitted that while they used a sledgehammer to force their way inside the bus, they had no idea the bus’ windshield could withstand strong blows.
He also admitted the sledgehammer was the only item left in their inventory in dealing with the situation at the time.
“In our inventory, the sledgehammer was the only thing we can use in that situation. What we did not expect was that the bus’ windshield was strong enough to withstand blows from a sledgehammer," he said.
But Santiago maintained they did their best in crowd control, where they managed to isolate the bus.
He also said they were not lacking in personnel, sayang the entire Manila Police District, and the regional public safety management unit were involved.
When asked if heads will roll, he said it will depend on the analysis.
“Kung ano ang resulta yan ang pagbabatayan ng decision (The results of the investigation will be the basis for our decisions)," he said. — LBG
