MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III announced Thursday that the government will be forming an elite force, similar to the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) unit, that would be equipped to handle high-profile crises, including hostage-taking incidents.

"Ang England, sa laki niya at yaman niya ay may 200 sa SAS. We will copy to a degree the formation of that national unit, where AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and PNP [Philippine National Police] are fully integrated," Aquino announced during an interview with the country's top 3 television networks.

Despite its lack of funds, Aquino said the government decided to form a special elite force in the wake of the August 23 hostage crisis where 8 Hong Kong tourists died.

He said 200 to 400 police and military troops will be recruited into the elite force, which would be trained to handle any crisis, "be it [on] land, [in the] air and [at] sea."

He said the 3 units each from the AFP and the PNP will conduct 2-day demonstrations of their crisis management capabilities starting on Thursday (September 9).

Aquino said that the formation of an elite force is also part of the government's move to repair the reputation of the country as an unsafe tourist destination.

“Pagkakita ng mga demo, ipapakita ang mga capabilities natin. Ilalabas ang lahat ng corrective action para mapaganda ang maganda na, at maiwas ang mga maling dinatnan natin, maayos magnegosyo at maayos dumalaw,” the President said.

Britain's Special Air Service has been called one of the world's toughest anti-terrorist units and has provided advice to other governments on handling hostage rescue situations.

Aquino did not say whether the Philippines would ask for British help in organizing this elite force, but conceded that the Philippines was already receiving training assistance from six countries which he did not name.

Assured of successful assault

The President said he was repeatedly assured that the elite Special Action Force (SAF) had been deployed at the Quirino Grandstand, ready for use in the assault of the hijacked bus.

“Napikon na nga ako nang husto. I was assured that they will be deployed when I inquired if the SAF had already been deployed,” Aquino said.

The President said he was disappointed with the failure of the Manila police’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units to breach the Hong Thai Travel tourist bus, where dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza held 21 Hong Kong tourists hostage.

Aquino did not mention if police officials who handled the hostage crisis had already explained to him why the SAF was not used.

During the interview with ABS-CBN, GMA-7, and TV5, the President declined to answer questions that would preempt the results of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC), which was formed to look into the lapses committed during the hostage negotiations.

He said that what the Manila police SWAT demonstrated during the actual hostage crisis was not what he had expected.

“Nakita ko ang asault, the assault should have taken seconds. What I thought when my mother was president, what I have witnessed in demonstrations was not what I saw in actuality in the Quirino Grandstand,” Aquino said.

He said that all along, he had thought that the country’s security forces would be able to handle hostage-taking situations.

“Mga 25 years ago na iyon. Inaasahan po natin na tuluy-tuloy ang pagsasanay, may na-improve na capability,” he said.

Vietnam-era vests

Aquino also clarified that he did not personally check the tourist bus when he went to Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan last week.

He said he went to the police camp to inspect its arms warehouse, in particular, to check the bullet-proof vests bought by the PNP for its personnel.

He said he decided to personally check the vests after members of the Manila police’s SWAT team that assaulted the tourist bus told the IIRC that they were wearing worn-out, Vietnam-era bullet-proof vests.

The policemen said they were hesitant to barge into the tourist bus because they are aware that bullets from the hostage-taker’s M16 assault rifle can pierce through their vests, which, they said, were already “expired.”

Aquino said that during the visit, he found out that “there really is proof to question some of these items.”

He said he was informed that the vests issued to the SWAT team were of low quality.

He said the vests issued to policemen should conform to “NIJ (National Institute of Justice) Level 3” standards. NUJ is an office under the US Department of Justice that tests body armor.

He said that based on NIJ standards, vests should surpass multiple bullet test. He said each vest should survive 12 to 24 rounds of ammunition.

In the case of the PNP's bullet-proof vests, they were tested with only two shots.

He said he has already ordered an internal investigation to identify the people responsible for the manufacture of sub-standard bullet-proof vests.

Aquino said the investigating has identified those responsible, hinting that the suspects were also involved in a previous anomalous transaction. With a report from Agence France-Presse