8 HK tourists killed in Manila bus siege
MANILA, Philippines (9th UPDATE) - Philippine security forces stormed a bus packed with Hong Kong tourists on Monday to end a dramatic hostage crisis that unfolded live on global television, leaving eight people and the gunman dead.
The day-long ordeal began when a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an M-16 assault rifle and dressed in combat pants hijacked the bus in Manila's tourist district in a desperate bid to get his job back.
Negotiations broke down after nightfall when the gunman, former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza, began shooting and commandos were forced to storm the bus, firing dozens of bullets of their own into the vehicle.
"I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if they do not stop," Mendoza told a local radio station as the police assault was about to get under way.
Police said a sniper shot Mendoza dead after he used his captives as "human shields" in the final moments of the 12-hour standoff.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said eight tourists were confirmed killed, while the Red Cross reported another seven were in hospital with unspecified injuries.
Seven tourists, including children, and two Filipinos were freed at various times throughout the day from the bus that was parked at Rizal Park, a popular tourist destination just a few blocks from police headquarters.
The Filipino bus driver jumped out of a window and escaped moments before police stormed the vehicle, with his escape and the rest of the crisis broadcast live on television.
One of the survivors hit out at the Philippine authorities, saying they acted too slowly.
"There were so many people on the bus -- no one came to our rescue. Why?" the woman, who identified herself as Mrs Leung, said at the scene in comments broadcast on Hong Kong's Cable TV.
"We were in fear for so many hours. I find it really cruel."
Aquino defended the actions of the police, saying authorities had initially believed Mendoza would surrender, suggested by the release of some of the hostages, but the situation later deteriorated.
After waiting more than 10 hours to launch their assault, police were then unable to get inside the bus for another 90 minutes.
They encircled the bus, smashed its windows and fired at it, but Mendoza held them off by shooting back.
The crisis eventually ended when police threw tear gas inside the bus, and fired again.
"He used the tourists as human shields. But he panicked and retreated to the front of the bus. He was then met with a volley of gunfire," the assault team's leader Superintendent Nelson Yabut told reporters.
Mendoza, 55, was honoured by police chiefs in 1986 as one of the top 10 officers in the country.
But he was discharged in 2008 for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion and hijacked the bus in a bid to clear his name, according to police.
"He wants to be reinstated in the service," Manila district police chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay said early in the day.
Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the tourists, aged between four and 72, were on a three-day tour with Hong Thai Travel due to end on Monday.
The Hong Kong government warned all its citizens to avoid travelling to the Philippines, and expressed grief over the killings.
"It is a tragedy because a pleasure trip has ended up with casualties and injuries," Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang told a press briefing.
Flags on Hong Kong government buildings will fly at half mast on Tuesday as a mark of respect for the victims.
The Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, telephoned his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo to express Beijing's shock and demand a thorough investigation, China's official Xinhua news agency said.
China is to send a team to the Philippines to help deal with the aftermath, Xinhua said.
The killings added to a fast-growing number of attacks of foreigners in the Philippines.
Gunmen shot dead a South Korean man in a separate attack on Monday in another section of Manila. Police said the incidents were not related.
Last month an American, a South African, a Briton and their Filipina partners were killed in spate of murder-robberies in Angeles City north of Manila. The alleged killer was arrested.
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They could've ended it
They could've ended it swiftly nung umpisa pa lang. A SWAT team member with the fastest reflexes could've posed as a negotiator armed only with a Taser that looks like a cellphone. When he enters the bus to check the condition of the hostages, i-Taser niya agad si Mendoza.
Tapos ang drama, ligtas pa ang mga hostages.
"Bakit di nila gayahin yung
"Bakit di nila gayahin yung sa US / Hollywood movie kung saan high-tech yung gamit nila tapos naresolba na ang crisis by just reciting a few dramatic punch lines and a click of a mouse?"
Unfortunately wala si Denzel Washington, Collin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jodie Foster, Gary Sinise, Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Marge Helgenberg atbp. para iligtas ang buong sambayanan.
Unfortunately, ito ang katotohanan hindi ito isang movie wherein all things ends well & people live happily ever after katulad ng movie na SWAT or tulad ng mga scenario sa CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, NCIS Los Angeles, Numb3rs, Mga Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC TV Seriesetc etc. kung saan things looks simply dramatic and are solved easily with a few simple steps.
Unfortunately, ito ang katotohanan, ito ang tunay na estado ng kapulisan sa Pilipinas kung saan ang kapulisan ay lantarang ipinakita ang kawalan ng sapat na kaalaman at kagamitan sa paghandle ng ganitong uri ng urban crisis. Ni walang gasmask at optic cable ang SWAT, ordinaryong facemask lamang ang gamit at walang protection sa mata. Walang optic cable na magamit upang masilip ang loob ng bus. Ni walang disposable Lockpick (mini explosive device but safe) upang mabuksan ang alinmang pinto na maaring pasukin, at ni hindi marunong magbukas ng emergency exit sa bus. nakakalungkot isipin .Meron budget ang pamahalaan para sa modernisasyon, nagbabayad ang tao ng tax sa gobyerno pero of course, di ko na kailangan sabihin kung saan napunta since alam na natin na napunta ito sa mansion, hacienda at luho ng mga abusadong tao na nasa posisyon. Maliban sa AFP, dapat nilang bigyan ng kaukulang atensyon ang pagbibigay ng modernisasyon at reporma sa PNP dahil sila ang may responsibilidad sa Urban areas.
Maghihintay ba ulit ang mga nasa kina uukulan na magkaroon ng ganito bago magkaroon ng genuine reform ang kapulisan. It remains to be seen. Ilan pang mga ganitong pangyayari ang kailangan maganap bago magising ang kinauukulan?
Sa ating mga pinoy wag mawalan ng pagasa. Dahil kung mawawalan tayo ng pagasa ay lalo lang tayong lulubog sa kumunoy na kinasasadlakan natin ngayon. Pagbabago at genuine reform Sa PNP, AFP, Sa Gubyerno at pagmamatyag mula sa ordinaryong mamamayang pilipino at responsableng pamamahayag sa mga media.
I must say the media did an
I must say the media did an astonishing coverage of the crisis, they should pat the back of the newsmen who covered the incident, but then again.. They should have not aired a blow by blow commentary of the hostage taking.. it will provide an essential info for the taker to where and how the assault will begin.. I think its proper to implement a news blackout while a crisis is ongoing, what was happened was that the media provided essential infos to Captain mendoza, hence the media should also face the law for being an accessory to the crime.
The PNP should have cordoned the area with police line and not only with instructions to the people to not go beyond this point, They should have illuminate the bus with spotlight or floodlights to be able to see the inside of the bus.
The PNP SWAT should have reacted with a swift assault, they have lost the momentum when they stationed outside the bus and awaits order, clearly there was no visible chain of command nor a conceive plan to assault the bus . They had 10 long hours to prepare for the worst, i heard that they even practiced an assault, what happened? clearly this is an indication that there is something wrong or lack of training for our SWAT.
SWAT means Special Weapons And Tactics, they should have been the best among the best. but nothing special happened. They could have saved more lives if they had swiftly reacted.
sikat na naman!
astig talaga ang pinoy! sikat na naman tayo worldwide!
at sa mga taga HK, wag na kayong pupunta ng Pinas kasi lahat ng tao dito pwede kayong patayin.
That goes to all the foreigners who are also planning to go to my beloved country! Go Philippines!
Pano ko pa isusuot yung jacket kong Pinas??? Di ba nakakahiya?
SWAT PALPAK!!!
NAKAKAHIYA!!!!!!!!...ambabagal kumilos....sinira pa ang pinto ng bus, di naman pala dun dadaan ang mga ungas na pulis....onli inda pilipins...hehehe....GANYAN KAMI SA PINAS...ANG PULIS NANG TO TORTURE AT NANG HO HOSTAGE!!!! HAHAHA....
What will the administration do now?
It is really a tragedy. Nagpapakawala naman ng hostage kaya malaki ang tyansa na ma-resolve peacefully. Kaya lang mali siguro na ma-provoke sya na malaman ang mga pamankin at kapatid nya na nahihirapan... Magdidilim ang paningin nun.
It turnes out also na hindi totoo na patay na ang lahat ng mga hostage ng tumakbo ang driver papalabas. Madami pang buhay na kawawa dun sa loob habang nilusob ng dahan dahan ng police.
Live ang coverage ng pagtugis sa CNN at BBC at sa iba pang panig ng mundo. Malaking epekto nito sa turismo.
What would the govt say now. Masuwerte pa nga si Noynoy kasi hindi sya direktang dinadawit ng mga kritiko. I can just imagine na kung hindi pa si NOYNOY, malamang sobra sisi sa presidente yan.
What would happen next, this we got to watch. Maghuhugas ba ng kamay si NOYNOY by blaming the police and firing people just like what he did without hesitation sa PAGASA.. Just to show with the people na lagi syang karamay. Anyway he always blames...
trained by movies
napanood nyo ba yung training day, swat, o di kaya expendable? siguro, akala nyo, ganun din yun. ang daming namatay sa kapabayaan at sa kawalan nyo ng maayos na paraan sa ganitong sitwasyon.
kawawa naman ang mga taong umaasa ng tulong sa mga taong tulad nyo.
ibalik kayo sa training at wag magbulakbol para may matutunan kayo.
- pangasar!!!
where was ramon bong revilla
bat wala si ramon bong revilla jr sa scene?? oo nga pala, tapos na ang election!
Why was the brother captured?
Why was the brother captured? What was that for?
Ganyan na ba ngayon, kasalanan ng criminal kasalanan na rin ng kapatid?
philippine securities
the problem with the Philippine securities are they hire people who are not qualified and do not know the protocols. based on my experience on philippine laws they really sucks. My daughter went to the Department of social welfare in which the head of the DSW had agreed that my daughter gets the full custody fot her 1yr old baby since the child is illegitimate. Unfortunately the guy run off with the baby in their office. nothing had been done to retrieve and arrest the guy. So many paper works had to be done. Protocols for this event, are there should have been police officers involved since it is a custody battle. As of now the baby is still in the hands of the said father (who is not the real father) this happened last Feb 2010. we have been transfered from one office to another and still no action had been done. but when it comes to political figures i guess within less than an hour the baby would be returned since we have no money to go around we are stuck with the situation