Major Embarassment

To begin with, I shouldn’t be blogging about major major bad news, certainly not my material. But considering its scope and scale, I just couldn’t bask unmindfully while everyone else in the world has something to say and opine. Indirectly, I am involved as the issues revolved around Filipinos and our character that is being placed under huge jeopardy. I need to speak up. While I have always wanted people to believe that "from where I came, everyone's a hero", the recent events might actually render it exaggerated and a flat out lie. It is a back to back milestones, headlining almost all global news sources, sadly, in the embarrassing and humiliating kind of way. CNN, ABC, BBC, Yahoo, Facebook, Tweeter, name it, we made it.

if there's one mistake na pwede sanang ma-correct, sana di na lang nangyari ang hostage taking at sana si Venus na lang ang bumababa sa bus dala dala korona ng Miss Universe, kung pwede lang sana....

Let's begin with the little distraction called the Miss Universe. The tilt happened after that global condemnation resulting from a Pinoy ex-cop killings of eight (8) tourists in a hostage drama in Quirino Grandstand. Had our representative won the crown, it would have been enough of an opportunity to outdo the bad reputation we just harvested courtesy of the crazy policeman. Miss Philippines' Venus Raj, heavily favored to win the pageant, stumbled at the deciding question and answer by saying she hasn't faced any major problems in life after she was asked to state a life's major issues and how she rectified it. Ironically, she gave no relative answer, hence no crown. She had it. But she chose to brand herself as someone perfect despite the obvious that she had been through a lot in life. She played it safe but still not bad, she landed 4th from a universe of 80+ delegates.

Now let's level up our attention to something more important: a hostage drama (horror) that took about 12 hours and ended in the brutal death of nine including the hostage taker. The hostage taker, disgruntled Police officer Rolando Mendoza was dismissed from service by the Office of the Ombudsman earlier this year for cases of extortion. His license was revoked, including all retirement benefits and rights to hold any public office. He claimed injustice and that has fueled his fury, armed with an M16 rifle, the ex-cop seized a busload of tourists to demand his reinstatement in the police force. However, the 12 hour stand-off that was hoped to be resolved peacefully ended in a bloodshed. What made it worst is the fact that the victims were HongKong nationals risking a chance to buy into our barely breathing tourism industry. The negotiation failed miserably for various reasons and after the incident, the world now sees our "policemen as garbages" and the entire "Filipinos as idiots".

The world was watching as the crisis unfolded. Publicity huh? Local television and international media covered it live. Besides showing the developments in real time, same time it was showing the world how incapable we are in as far as handling hostage taking is concerned, it is diplaying how our Police works with lack of equipments, skills, tactic/ strategies and a lot more. The handling of the whole situation was a showcase of incompetence and stupidity. How about the media? They're there to do their job though I hoped they could have acted a little differently. They have appeared some what mindlessly and apparently with no regards to the fact that lives were at stakes.

I only learned of the news actually after the crisis was over. I was so busy with work here in Dubai though we're supposed to get a 3 hr cut from work due to Ramadan. Honestly, I felt terribly sad and bad for for the victims and all the repercussions the tragedy may entail especially the plight of OFWs in HongKong where the victims came. It is also not fair that they be dragged into something nobody wanted to happen. For now, all we can do is pray for the souls of the dead and recovery of the injured and pray for the understanding and forgiveness of the countries whose citizens' lives were lost in the tragedy. Back home, the PNP has a lot to learn and lot of explaining to make.