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HK Bus Hostage Tragedy 2010 (aftermath. etc.); updates, discussions
Topic Started: Aug 23 2010, 12:08 PM (6,543 Views)
edwin
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raider1011
Aug 24 2010, 01:32 PM
^My god, so the solution was in plain sight? Bakit hindi nila alam iyan? Kahit yung sniper hindi napansin?

Isn't knowing about information like emergency opening mechanisms part of their job? The worst attitude to take is for people to just shrug their shoulders and say the police did their duty. Enough complacency.

SWAT nga sila eh.... Sorry Wala Ako Training....Special Weapons Alang Tactic..
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It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality of tomorrow.
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al'Lan Mandragoran
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I can only hope that a better PNP will come out of this debacle.

My prayers for the souls of those who died and the speedy recovery of the wounded.
"In wars, boy, fools kill other fools for foolish causes."

"Run when you have to, fight when you must, rest when you can."

- Robert Jordan; The Wheel of Time
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raider1011


So what happened? The PNP had people who were ready and willing to do the job, but someone stopped them from doing it? The absence of PNP SAF is an injustice, to the victims and the organization both.

Quote:
 
Sureshock –Urban Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Course

The Urban Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Course, also known as Sureshock, is one of the course offered exclusively by the SAF. It is especially designed to enable police officers to respond to crises and terrorist incident in mostly urban situations. With Sureshock, students master modern anti-terrorist methods such as how to conduct hostage rescue operations even aboard as aircraft and /or moving vehicles. They imbibe interventions. They learn, for instance, how to breach or rappel to enter an assault area from above, and extricate hostages safely. Further still, the expertise of SAF troopers with firearms are honed so that they are able to handle these with deadly accuracy, speed, and care. The close-quarters battle is the trademark of the Sureshock. Conducted almost always amid smoke, darkness, and deadly fumes while fully outfitted and armed, a team or teams of SAF troopers clear a building systematically and methodically. This approach can be either covert or done is absolute silence where commands are given through hand signals, or it could be dynamic, as in assault conducted in the midst of a raging firefight.

http://www.pnpsaf.org

Since February 2003 our instructors have provided training to selected members of the PNP Special Action Force Commandos inclusive of the First Special Action Battalion; the Second Battalion; the Rapid Deployment Battalion - Crisis Response Group;  and facilitated as special instructor to the Urban Counter Revolutionary Warfare Course (Sure Shock) Class 51, 58, 59, 60; Commando Trainees - class 23 & 24; SAF Operation Orientation Course (SAF-OOC) - Class 03; PNP-Air Marshall program entitled the  Covert Escort Security Service for National Air-carriers (CESSNA); and the Special Weapons and Tactical Operation Course (SWATOC) Class 02-2003.

SCENARIO SIMULATION TRAINING

As part of our exposure and in-depth knowledge of terrorism incidents, The Helquin Group provides instructors with tactical and strategic inputs to facilitate scenario simulation training to specialized counterterrorist units in preparation of hostage rescue exercises and high-risk incidents.

Since 2003 The Helquin Group has assisted in the execution of scenario simulation exercises entitled ‘Train Hostage Rescue Operations’ as part of the PNP-SAF Urban Counter Revolutionary Warfare Course.

In addition, The Helquin Group has provided visual training aids and tactical development skills for the success of the exercise including of train hostage incident case studies, train specification and mass public rail transport operations overview, staging area preparation, and the execution of covert approach, dynamic entries, and hostage-prisoner control methods.

http://helquingroup.viviti.com/our-services
God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.

|| Chester W. Nimitz

Loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

|| Mark Twain
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raider1011


Quote:
 
By Non Alquitran (The Philippine Star) Updated July 31, 2010 12:00 AM

The incoming NCRPO chief is Director Leocadio Santiago, the erstwhile chief of the Special Action Force (SAF), the fighting unit of the PNP, reports said.

PNP No. 3 man's retirement triggers revamp

It's hard to believe the NCRPO chief of all people wouldn't immediately call on his former unit to handle the crisis. So sino ba talaga ang nakisawsaw?

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A retired Philippine military official who wrote a counter-terrorism manual and now runs a security consultancy said the police had enough expertise and equipment to deal with such an incident, but they were not put to use.

"We have everything, except the execution was poorly done," he said, declining to be named.

He was critical of the stop-go negotiations and "tentative" assault launched after gunshots rang out from inside the bus, adding that the police should have disabled the TV monitor early on.

"Contact (by negotiators) should have been constant. It's the talking that does a lot," he said.

"When you order an assault, it has to be an assault. There is no such thing as a tentative assault," he said. "If 10 policemen have to die, they have to die in that assault."

The retired official believed many of the policemen on the scene, some of them seen crouching without any body armour behind patrol cars, did not appear to be fully trained Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel.

"They just put helmets on certain people,"
he remarked.

Security experts angry over Manila hostage drama

And how in the world did we go from this ...

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... to this?!

Killhorn
Aug 24 2010, 01:04 PM
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God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.

|| Chester W. Nimitz

Loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

|| Mark Twain
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israeli
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To those in Hong Kong, care to translate to us what were written on those Cantonese placards?

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-- Hong Kong citizens stick protest signs around the seal at the local Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, alleging the Philippine government mishandling a bus hijacking on Monday that ended with the gunman killing eight Hong Kong tourists. The killings shocked this wealthy Chinese financial hub unaccustomed to violence, with local newspapers accusing the Philippine police of incompetence. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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-- Hong Kong citizens demand explanation from the representative of Philippine Consulate General, left, during their protest outside the local Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, alleging the Philippine government mishandling a bus hijacking on Monday that ended with the gunman killing eight Hong Kong tourists. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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-- Hong Kong citizens request explanations during a protest outside the local Philippine Consulate General on Tuesday, August. 24, 2010, alleging the Philippine government mishandling a bus hijacking on Monday that ended with the gunman killing eight Hong Kong tourists. The killings shocked this wealthy Chinese financial hub unaccustomed to violence, with local newspapers accusing the Philippine police of incompetence. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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-- Hong Kong citizens show a picture allegedly showing Philippine policeman pretending to hold a gun, during the protest outside the local Philippine Consulate General on Tuesday, August. 24, 2010, alleging the Philippine government mishandling a bus hijacking on Monday that ended with the gunman killing eight Hong Kong tourists. The killings shocked this wealthy Chinese financial hub unaccustomed to violence, with local newspapers accusing the Philippine police of incompetence. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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-- Workers at Hong Kong's stock exchange observe a minute of silence for the victims of the Manila bus hijacking. The Hong Kong government raised a "black" travel alert for the Philippines, urging against all travel to one of Southeast Asia's most popular tourist spots. (AFP/Mike Clarke)

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-- Philippines bus hostages are reported in the front pages of Hong Kong newspapers in Hong Kong Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010. A dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle seized a bus in the Philippine capital Monday with 25 passengers aboard, most of them Hong Kong tourists, in a bid to demand his reinstatement, police said. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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-- Hong Kong flag, left, hangs at half mast in Hong Kong Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010. A dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle seized a bus in the Philippine capital Monday with 25 passengers aboard, most of them Hong Kong tourists, in a bid to demand his reinstatement, police said. Seven Hong Kong tourists and the ex-policeman were found dead inside the bus. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
"To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz
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israeli
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Hong Kong angry, sad at handling of Manila siege
By Greg Hughes and Kevin Voigt, CNN
August 24, 2010 -- Updated 1007 GMT (1807 HKT)


Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- The hostage crisis in Manila that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead has generated sorrow and anger as well as raised many questions over the handling of the situation by the Filipino authorities.

"This is a serious blow to Hong Kong people. We all feel very devastated," Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang told a press conference Tuesday, saying that the government would soon announce community mourning events.

In local media, under the headline "Tsang slams siege tactics," the South China Morning Post highlighted Donald Tsang's "disappointment" over the handling of the crisis, reporting that he was close to tears during a press conference.

The Standard reported that "hundreds of Hong Kong residents expressed disbelief and disappointment in discussion forums and on Facebook, saying the police officers were overcautious, if not slow, to storm the bus."

"Is there only one ax in the Philippines?" "Why didn't the police shoot the gunman earlier?" said one comment posted in a forum, The Standard reported.

Another Facebook page asked people to wear black on Tuesday to mourn the dead.

An editorial in The Standard also questioned the approach of the rescue operation, noting that an "entire hour" passed from the time the police tried to break into the bus to the time the gunman was declared dead.

Joesph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said: "Watching on the live broadcast, a lot of people here in Hong Kong are very much furious about the action from the Philippine police."

With Hong Kong residents watching the events unfold live with the rest of the world, its bloody conclusion has ratcheted frustrations with the Philippine government.

"As we were watching this, in the beginning it seemed his demands were very simple and everything was very easy going ... you never thought it would come out like this," Tung said.

The Hong Kong government put up a black signal warning to "avoid all travel" to the Philippines, its most severe warning.

The last time Hong Kong issued a black alert was for travel to Bangkok during violent protests there earlier this year, Tung said.

There are currently three other tour groups from Hong Kong traveling in the Philippines with about 60 people, Tung said. All are expected to return home Tuesday.

Tung thinks the bloodshed will undoubtedly hurt Hong Kong travel to the Philippines, where the beaches of Cebu are especially popular for local travelers.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Jesus A Verzosa said a committee looking into the handling of the hostage incident will seek to determine if there were lapses on the part of the police unit or the crisis committee involved.

"We offer our deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased even as we extend a helping hand to the wounded victims and other survivors of this ordeal. But at this point, we do not want to pass sweeping judgment or make early conclusions except to say that our intention to peacefully end this hostage drama was spoiled when the hostage-taker suddenly exhibited violent behavior and began shooting the hostages," Verzosa said.

However, a PNP spokesman has already outlined some observations on the management of the crisis, including poor handling of the hostage negotiation; the assault team's inadequate skills, equipment and planning; and poor crowd control.

On Tuesday, members of the local Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) political party held a protest at the Consulate General of the Philippines, chanting: "We protest against the police. There rescue efforts were incompetent."

There were fears among the Filipino community in Hong Kong that anger at Manila's handling of the hostage drama could cause a backlash against those living in Hong Kong.

"We have to make clear our position on the issue; that this is not something about Filipinos against Chinese or Chinese against Filipinos," said Eman Villanueva, executive director of United Filipinos in Hong Kong, an umbrella group that represents migrants working in the southern Chinese enclave.

About 150,000 Filipinos live and work in Hong Kong, the majority of which are employed as domestic helpers, said Villanueva.

"The United Filipinos in Hong Kong condoles with the families in Hong Kong of those who died and sympathizes with the other victims who got out safely but were surely traumatized by the tragic event of the past hours," the group said in a statement.

"Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong are appalled by this crime and greatly saddened by its ending."

Some employers have told Filipino workers to stay at home today to avoid any potential conflicts, Villanueva said, but his group has not received any reports of actions against Philippine nationals working in Hong Kong.
"To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz
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israeli
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to add insult to injury:

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goodness! :armyroleyes:
"To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz
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israeli
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9 killed in hostage mess; China demands answers
The Associated Press
08/24/2010 | 02:36 PM


MANILA, Philippines – China demanded answers Tuesday from the Philippines after a 12-hour hostage drama in the heart of Manila ended with eight Hong Kong tourists dead along with their Filipino hostage-taker after a day of botched negotiations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said his government was "appalled" and telephoned his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo to voice concern, while Hong Kong residents expressed outrage and media outlets in the Chinese territory denounced Philippine police as incompetent.


Dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, 55, was armed with a M16 rifle and a pistol when he seized the busload of 21 Hong Kong tourists and four locals to demand his reinstatement on the force. The ordeal ended in bloodshed on live TV with police storming the bus and killing the gunman after he fired at the tourists, killing eight of them.

"The Chinese government demands the Philippine government launch a thorough investigation into the incident and inform the Chinese side of related details as soon as possible," Yang said, according to a statement posted on his ministry's website.

At the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, a wealthy former British colony unaccustomed to violence, several dozen protesters chanted: "Strongly condemn the Philippine government for being careless about human life!"


Philippine police defended their action but promised to review all events leading to the deaths. "There will be an internal audit. We will look at whether what we did was right," national police spokesman Agrimero Cruz told The Associated Press.

"Of course what happened was far from ideal. Nevertheless, we are congratulating our personnel because despite the lack of equipment ... they risked life and limb," he said.

President Benigno Aquino III, faced with his first major crisis since taking office in June, said the incident showed the need for more police training and better equipment. "How can I be satisfied when there were people who died?" Aquino told reporters late Monday.

Some police commandos lacked helmets and appropriate communication equipment, and the team had no ladder vehicle to help climb aboard the seized bus while storming it — shortcomings that hampered a speedy response.

According to newspaper reports, Mendoza was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging they falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money. Mendoza was fired last year but claimed he was innocent.

As negotiations got under way in Manila's downtown where the bus was parked, the outcome at first looked promising with Mendoza freeing nine hostages — six tourists, a Filipino photographer and his Filipino assistant. Fifteen tourists and the Filipino driver were left on board.

Then the situation unraveled. Mendoza demanded a signed promise from the city ombudsman that his case would be reviewed, but its delivery was delayed for hours, in part by Manila's notorious traffic, and when it finally arrived he rejected it as insufficient.

Mayor Alfredo Lim, a former Manila police chief, said the regional police commander Leocadio Santiago issued an order reinstating Mendoza "just to accommodate his request, just to peacefully resolve this hostage situation."

"But the problem was it wasn't delivered before the shooting started," he told DZMM radio on Tuesday.

Police made an initial attempt to board the bus after Mendoza grew agitated while talking to his brother and shot at a police sharpshooter, said Nelson Yabut, head of the assault team.

The Filipino bus driver later managed to escape and reported that Mendoza had fired at the tourists. Mendoza was then shot in the head, police lobbed tear gas into the bus and commandos stormed the vehicle by smashing windows and the back door with sledgehammers.

Police managed to rescue eight passengers during the ordeal, many of them wounded and one of whom later died in hospital. Mendoza and seven passengers were lying dead, one of them slumped on the bus steps.

"I hid under a seat (when the gunman started to fire)," Wang Zhuoyao, 15, told reporters from a hospital bed. "Then the police dispersed gas. People in the bus were struggling. I could hear that many people couldn't breathe."

A freed hostage who gave only her surname, Ng, told Hong Kong reporters that she saw her husband killed by Mendoza after he tried to subdue the gunman.

"He was very brave. He rushed forward from the back of the bus. He wanted to prevent the gunman from killing people. He sacrificed himself," she said.

She said that Mendoza at first "did not want to kill us, but since the negotiation failed, he shot to kill people."

Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said the hostage crisis would likely damage the country's tourism industry. "We will have cancellations," he told The AP early Tuesday in a Manila hospital, where some of the former hostages were confined. "I'm hoping it will be forgotten soon enough."

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said he was "disappointed" at how the incident was handled. His government canceled planned tour groups to Philippines and asked Hong Kong tourists in the country to leave.

Tsang told reporters that one of the survivors was in serious condition with a head wound.

Chinese Embassy spokesman Ethan Sun Yi said a chartered plane was available to fly survivors home.

Many Hong Kong newspapers printed mastheads in black out of respect for the victims, and flags in the territory flew at half-staff.

"Filipino police incompetent," Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News said in a front-page headline.

"Clearly, if local police used more decisive and professional rescue methods, maybe the bloody tragedy could have been avoided," the Hong Kong Economic Journal said in an editorial on Tuesday.

The South China Morning Post called the killings "a wake-up call" for the Philippines to boost security and take gun-control measures.
"To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz
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israeli
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Hong Kong furious at Manila bloodbath
by Polly Hui
Agence France Presse
Tue Aug 24, 8:06 am ET


HONG KONG (AFP) – Hong Kong protesters Tuesday slammed the Philippines and newspapers accused Manila's police of incompetence as the territory plunged into mourning for eight tourists slain in a hostage drama.

One Hong Kong survivor of Monday's day-long bus siege in the Philippine capital said her husband and two daughters -- aged 21 and 14 -- had been killed as the crisis reached its bloody climax live on television. Her 18-year-old son was in intensive care.

Her husband had died a hero trying to shield his family, said the survivor, Amy Ng.

"The Philippine government.... I can't accept this. Why did they do this to us?" she demanded of Hong Kong officials who flew to Manila in an emotional encounter shown on Cable News TV.

The gunman, a disgraced former senior policeman who seized the bus to press for the return of his old job, "did not want to kill us. He only shot us after the negotiations failed," Ng said, sobbing.

Flags on government buildings flew at half-mast for the victims, part of a Hong Kong tour group, and the stock exchange observed a minute's silence.

A steady stream of protesters vented their anger at the Philippine consulate.

"We are very angry about how the Philippine government handled this case," said Alex Tou, head of the Kowloon Federation of Associations, who led one group of 40 shouting demonstrators.

The Hong Kong government announced a "black" travel alert for the Philippines, warning against all travel to one of Southeast Asia's most popular tourist destinations.

"We demand that the Philippine authorities conduct a detailed and comprehensive investigation on the incident. They must provide a full account to us as soon as possible," Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said.

On Monday he described the handling of the hostage stand-off as "very disappointing".

Hong Kong's government said a chartered flight would depart for Manila Wednesday to ferry victims' families, injured survivors and the bodies of the dead, while two elderly survivors were expected home Tuesday evening.

The Philippines said it would send a delegation to Hong Kong soon to explain the hijacking in greater detail.

"We're concerned that... because of the public anger in Hong Kong over what happened, there will be threats against Filipinos living and working there," presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said.

Dolores Balladares, chair of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, said that growing outrage towards the Philippine government could affect the livelihood of Filipinos in the financial hub, most of them domestic helpers.


Lurid photographs of the bloodbath dominated the Hong Kong press and a few Chinese-language papers changed their mast-heads from red to black.

Newspaper editorials questioned the response of Philippine authorities to the stand-off.

They bemoaned what they perceived as missed opportunities for the police to end the siege much earlier, including when the gunman allowed himself to become a potential target for snipers by waving from the bus door.

"Their appalling professional standards, and the lack of strategic planning, made observers both angry and sad. This tragedy could have been avoided," the Hong Kong Economic Journal said.

Anger also spilled onto the Internet, with critics accusing Philippine authorities of forcing a violent outcome to the stand-off.

"Assault the bus with no clear and concise battle plan beyond opening the door. Really a winning combination," observed one blogger sarcastically.


China's embassy in Manila urged the government "to take concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of the Chinese citizens" in the Philippines.
"To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz
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arvcab
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israeli
Aug 25 2010, 02:04 AM
to add insult to injury:

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goodness! :armyroleyes:

hay pinoy talaga :headbang: nakakahiya na nga ginawa pa yata nilang background sa pics nila... :scared:
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