MANILA, Philippines - "Saving lives is more important than getting the news."

This was the stern rebuke given by a member of the government panel investigating the August 23 hostage crisis to news anchors of radio station DZXL-RMN after they failed to beg the hostage-taker to release his hostages while interviewing him live on air.

Teresita Ang-See, who represents the Filipino-Chinese community in the investigation, said none of the DZXL-RMN anchors asked hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza to release the 16 hostages he still had inside the bus when they first started interviewing him before 6 p.m. of August 23.

"Ang trabaho niyo mag-cover lang, hindi niyo man lang naisip na kahit papaano ay magmakaawa lang dahil nasa line na kayo. At that time, mukhang OK pa yung negotiation. May puso pa rin siya at that time," she said during Tuesday's inquiry.

(Your job is to cover but none of you thought about begging him although you were already on the line. At that time, the negotiation was still OK. He still had a heart.)

Ang-See said a police negotiator, Superintendent Orlando Yebra, noted that Mendoza could still have been persuaded to release his hostages before the shooting started if police had been given a chance to talk to the hostage-taker. Yebra said he could not contact Mendoza because the hostage-taker's cell phone was busy.

At the time, Mendoza was already being interviewed on-air by DZXL-RMN anchors Michael Rogas and Erwin Tulfo.

Rogas said he interviewed Mendoza 8 hours after the hostage drama started to find out the situation of the hostages inside the hijacked tour bus.

Ang-See, however, asked Rogas why he failed to ask Mendoza to release his hostages. "Didn't you even make an appeal na pakawalan niyo na yung mga hostages ninyo nung panahon na yun?" she said.

Rogas replied: "Our role there was to let people know what was happening. We are not negotiators to make an appeal." He also pointed out that he tried several times to calm down the hostage-taker to no avail.

Ang-See, however, was unconvinced since none of the radio station anchors who interviewed the hostage-taker appealed for the hostages' lives.

"Wala man lang sa inyo, Mr. (Jake) Maderazo, Mr. (Michael) Rogas, Erwin Tulfo, none of them, none of you even begged him. It's not your role. I know it's not your role but couldn't you have done your humane duty to do something about it? Your first duty is human lives. It is more important, " she said.

Maderazo, spokesman of RMN-DZXL, said the radio station was not aiming for a scoop when it interviewed Mendoza. He said the story had journalistic relevance since the hostage-taker did not ask for ransom and had taken foreigners as hostages.

"We just wanted to talk to the hostage-negotiator first. We did not know that there were negotiations. We did not know that he would get angry. We were thrown into a situation that escalated into something that made even us nervous. In hindsight, try sitting in a radio booth in a situation like that. You wouldn't know what to ask," he said.

Ang-See said the radio interview actually allowed the hostage-taker to grandstand because he was being given media attention.

Maderazo, however, said the interview allowed news organizations a glimpse into what was happening inside the bus. "If there was no media recording inside the bus and suddenly he shot all the people inside, who would tell the story?" he asked.

Ang-See, however, responded: "Your profession should never be more important than human lives, than covering what was happening inside."

No violations of KBP code

Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who served as RMN's lawyer during the hearing, said RMN anchors did not violate any of the provisions of the Broadcaster's Code of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and the Revised Penal Code.

He also warned against a crackdown on press freedom in the Philippines brought on by the emotional response to the hostage crisis that saw 8 Hong Kong tourists killed. He said some members of Congress are already contemplating on canceling the franchises of TV and radio stations in the aftermath of the hostage crisis.

"I don't think that's a good thing to do because no law should be passed breaching the freedom of the press as guaranteed by the Constitution," he said.

Broadcast media have been heavily criticized for airing live the August 23 hostage-taking that killed the hostage-taker and 8 tourists. Investigation has shown that the hostage-taker was able to watch the live news broadcasts through a television inside the hijacked bus.

Police also questioned why a local radio station was interviewing Mendoza at a crucial stage of the hostage crisis, preventing negotiators from talking to him.

At the start of the hearing, Maderazo said RMN interviewed Mendoza as part of the radio station's sworn duty to present all sides and angles on a developing situation. He said the interview allowed the hostage-taker to air his grievances in order to pacify him.

He said the subsequent interviews produced a calming effect on the hostage-taker "until his sudden emotional outburst caused by the MPD's arrest of his brother."

Committee chairman Leila de Lima said the government panel reserves the right to summon the RMN anchors in the second phase of the investigation to discuss institutional and legislative reforms in the local media industry.

Hostages watched TV inside bus

Portions of RMN's interview with the hostage-taker were played during the Incident Investigation and Review Committee hearing on Tuesday. Maderazo said the radio station contacted Mendoza 4 times, with the first call starting at 5:55 p.m. or nearly 8 hours after the hostage incident started.

The interview revealed that Rogas and fellow news correspondent Erwin Tulfo were able to interview the hostage-taker, bus driver Albero Lubang and one female hostage before the shooting started inside the bus.

The interview with the hostage, Yang Lee Wa, was her last since she was one of 9 fatalities on the bus.

In one part of the interview, Rogas asked Mendoza how the hostages are doing. "They are watching TV right now," the hostage-taker said.

The interview revealed that Tulfo volunteered to interview the hostage-taker inside the bus but was disallowed by police. Mendoza also agreed to let Tulfo enter the bus on the condition that he would be handcuffed.

It also showed that Mendoza even contemplated suicide at one point if he did not get his demands to be reinstated in the police.

Crucial 7 minutes

The radio interview captured a crucial period in the 12-hostage drama when Mendoza saw the arrest of his brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, on live TV.

Maderazo said Mendoza gave an ultimatum to police to release his brother or else he would start shooting his hostages. He said Tulfo relayed the hostage-taker's request to Superintendent Nelson Yabut, District Mobile Group commander, and other police officers at the command post of the hostage crisis.

At the time, all members of the local crisis committee including the ground commander, Manila Police District chief Rodolfo Magtibay, were meeting at a local restaurant near the command post.

The RMN-DZXL spokesman said that, based on the time frame of their radio interview, the shooting started at around 7:23 p.m. and lasted for about 7 minutes.

During that period, the radio interview captured the sound of shots being fired followed by the cries of hostages and the bus driver's pleadings to let him live. Tulfo is also heard, retorting: "Yan na nga ba ang sinasabi ko kanina pa."

It also aired Rogas asking Tulfo what had happened to Mendoza's demand that his brother be freed. Tulfo replied: "Ito na eh. Nagdidilly-dally pa yung mga operatiba dito, kanina ko pa sinabi."

Maderazo said the line to Mendoza was cut for 22 minutes. Mendoza returned on the line at 7:50 p.m. and said that he had shot 2 of the hostages.

"Binaril ko na yung 2 Chinese. Pagka hindi nila binago yung ganitong sitwasyon, ako mamamaril dito sa loob. Uubusin ko 'to! Uubusin ko pagka hindi sila tumigil ng kakatakbo diyan sa gilid. Uubusin ko to!" Mendoza said before his line was cut.

(I shot 2 of the Chinese. If they don't change the situation, I'm going to start shooting in here. I'll finish off everyone! I'll kill everybody if they don't stop running beside the bus. I'll finish off everyone!)