The Whirlwind

            As we sow wind, we are now reaping the whirlwind.  This is bad to the country  tarnishing anew our image from that hostage crisis further  precipitating  division and discrimination not just across the nation but to far away places in the region  across the seas in Asia and the rest of the globe.

 Isolated incident? Must be kidding. Just look now how that unpleasant incident dragged us all Filipinos specially our overseas workers taking the brunt of the mess not of our own making but created by few inept and assuming authorities causing that tumultuous incident what otherwise would have been averted by a mere phonecall from no less than PNOY himself. No punning here. Good that the government through Senate and PNP were quick in conducting with their separate investigation to go into the bottom of the case. But too late for the effort and waste of time when said infamous hostage crisis would have been avoided. Let us call spade a spade as we might be wasting time and waiting  for the result of various investigation conducted over the issue. What’s the assurance that the result would be over after three weeks given deadline. We just don’t have any assurance when it would be solved and closed. How many similar  investigations were in the past already  conducted? Tell it to the marines!  Better be blunt about it and move on to heal the scar left by that infamy.

            Unfortunately, PNOY has even the gall of shutting off his phone when lots of lives and prestige of his nation was at stake before the face of the world specially the Hongkong Chinese nationals taken as  hostages. The bucks should have stopped with who else if not with himself as Commander-in-Chief after all officials undertaking the negotiation bungled in addressing the issue. The problem is that  his face did not match with his sincerity in dishing out later words of public apology and expression of empathy and bereavement to Hongkong officials. Ironically, he was in close-in command conference with military officials during the incident and thus have closed his cellphone to avoid disturbance.  And yet he would claim later that he was monitoring the hostage taking and yet not at all answering the call of Mr. Donald Chan who was moving heaven and earth contacting him to salvage the situation. Pastor Remy Danoco of  Malaybalay, Bukidnon was definitely right as many of our readers  are that the tragedy would have been prevented by one mere phone call by the President to desperate hostage taker Mendoza giving in to his demands never mind what the rest are. But there he was, all by himself like the proverbial bystander conjecturing what the next incident would be. Look how the gamble turns out. Losing eight innocent Chinese nationals and injuring many others not exchanging to Mendoza’s reinstatement whose last salary was penned at low starvation P19,000.00 wage a month.

Who is really in charge here. Hindi pa ba natin yan memorize. Where else the  passing of bucks ends anyway as it passes through incompetent negotiators if not with the Commander-in-Chief himself. That should be clear even from the very start or we would be soon treated to a rollercoaster ride of similar incident in the future. US Pres. Theodore Roosevelt of course was very emphatic when he propounded that maxim sending clear message to all his constituents  that as President elected by the people, he has the final say and always held accountable over incidents that occur under his term. No need of excuses in other words. Where the heart is willing it will find thousand means, but where the heart is unwilling it will find not just thousand but million of excuses, he might have quoted  the relevant wisdom  driving  home his point.

            Hostage crisis, Revolt of Mendoza whatever it was could be considered  the spectacle ever in its ugliest in that he did not only held hostage the Hongkong Chinese nationals but also the entire nation and its institution. In fact, it appeared that all variables – the girl who accompanied him to Fort Santiago to the driver, Ombudsman, public officials, media, police authorities and ordinary Juan de la Cruz – were all  held captive by Mendoza. Yes the President included. The government partly defaulted, claimed by Commissioner Etta Rosales of Human Rights over the issue. Malou Mangahas, Exec. Dir. of Phil. Investigative Journalism agreed as she regretted that media should have stand by ethical standard acting as fiscalizer  strengthening Journalism as an institution not as substitute player playing emotional hit and run driver using their subjects as scapegoat as  source of their bread and butter.   Short of a plot, we all facilitated him staging his revolt by his lonesome self. Only of course that he dearly paid the price for it.  That would definitely go down in the pages of history as the most repulsive in that the incident happened right under our noses with us feasting on gory graphics thrusted by TV footages covered live courtesy of the media. No thanks to the hungry tri-media industry from broadcast RMN who ate the last forty five critical  minutes which otherwise would have been utilized for good, giant TV networks ABS-CBN and GMA-12 never mind the print national daily and tabloid in full throttle treating blow-by-blow account of the hostage taking that happened in Quirino Grandstand, Manila killing eight innocent Chinese nationals and injuring many others.

            But what made the incident doubly repulsive, double whammy to Philippine government is now the seemingly bad repercussion our overseas Filipino workers are getting in Hongkong and other parts of the globe comparing us to monkeys and as brutal people. Thanks for Jacky Chan coming to the rescue that no way apathy brought by that hostage crisis would sow division and inter racial discrimination.

Obviously it was a fiasco and complete reversal of what PGMA handled similar incident before. From the looks of it said incident would go down the line and if taken as gauge could be bad signal to the people. Ironically, he even impressed the media before with his political savvy giving himself some inside  commentary on issues asked and event went extra mile sending his top cabinet officials to refresher course in handling the media. But there he was caught in the web of such incident practically with his hands tied up sending no message at all. How could he when he had his communication line closed that time! Better now he opens his line twenty four hours a day to avert similar incident and have him answered promptly answer call of duty. Not only him but all officials and local executives down the line who even in txting would wrap up  their  message with either good morning or good afternoon clincher  showing how they hang on  their make-believe mentality that they could manage  handling  better the situation when it  requires the help of the people in the field to make things happen.

            There are many other Sr. Insp. Rolando Mendozas in us. It is hoped that concerned institutions and stakeholders, NGOs and  civil societies would now continue holding multi-stakeholders dialogue studying the best option there as solution. That it seems what the relevance of Mendoza’s revolt was. It was not only  addressed. Or if ever addressed, was already  too late. As he rightly printed it: Right and big answers can never right wrong solutions or to that effect! And to PNOY and concerned negotiators, make sure what message  your driving across to the receiver or prepare harvesting whirlwind from  superficial oratorical piece. I submit. May the victims of the tragedy rest in peace. Amen.