If crisis involves foreigners, national crisis management committee should handle it

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director-General Jesus Verzosa said there is a need to review the government's crisis management protocols and define a hostage-taking incident involving foreign nationals as a case that should be handled at the national level.

During the first day of the hearing of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee, what has emerged is that the August 23 hostage crisis was treated as an incident that should be handled solely by the local crisis management committee even if it involved 21 foreigners.

Roan Libarios, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) representative to the committee, pointed out that crisis management protocols lack criteria that would define whether a crisis was local or national.

Verzosa agreed, saying there was a need to clearly say when the national crisis management committee should come in.

In the August 23 hostage crisis, there were 21 Hong Kong tourists and 4 Filipinos. Eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.

Verzosa said higher authorities can immediately call an incident as one that should be handled by the national crisis management committee, but in this case, no one made such a call.

In last week's hostage crisis, the local crisis management committee was headed by the local chief executive, Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim, and Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno as co-chair.

Suspended Manila police chief Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, as head of the Manila Police District, was the overall ground commander and was a member of the local crisis management committee.

Verzosa said the PNP is guided by the crisis management manual issued in 2000, and two Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued in 2008 and 2010 defining the specific tasks of the various PNP units during times of man-made and natural disasters.

In hostage-taking situations, he said the manual says the primary concern should always be the safe release of the hostages, the surrender of the hostage-taker and the arrest of t he suspect. When negotiations fail and the hostage-taker begins killing hostages or takes hostile action, the ground commander shall immediately order interventions with clearance given by the situation commander.

All went well until 6 p.m.

Verzosa repeatedly pointed out the negotiations with hostage-taker, dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza, went well in the early stages, which even made him decide to leave Manila at 2:30 p.m. for a previously scheduled forum on anti-terrorism and criminality in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao.

He said Mendoza released hostages starting at 10 a.m.. Even after the end of the 3 p.m. deadline by Mendoza, he said nothing happened to the hostages, and there was no indication that he would hurt the hostages.

Verzosa said the "tipping point" was when the hostage-taker saw his brother, policeman Gregorio, handcuffed and arrested at around 6 p.m., prompting him to take his first shot. It was also around this time when he got the letter from the Ombudsman merely ordering a quick review of his extortion case.

The PNP chief said he does not see the hostage incident as a total failure since 17 were rescued.

Teresita Ang See, a member of the committee representing the Chinese-Filipino community, questioned Verzosa's decision to leave Manila for Cagayan de Oro, and leave the handling of the crisis to the local crisis management committee.

See pointed out it would have been wiser if Verzosa just sent his deputy to attend the function in Cagayan de Oro.

Verzosa said that when he got to Cagayan de Oro, he had to closely monitor the situation. When the crisis turned for the worse, he said he also got alarmed, so he tried to call Magtibay but his line was busy.

However, he pointed out that in these situations, it is not good to have many officials in "higher echelons confusing on-site decisions."