Most of us knew it was just a matter of time. As predicted in my previous blog, President Noynoy Aquino’s high popularity rating at the beginning of his term only had one way to go and that was down. What I never expected was for P.Noy’s fall from grace to be as quick and catastrophic as this one, and to be witnessed by the rest of the international community.
Less than a hundred days after being sworn to office, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang called the Aquino government a disappointment after the recent tragic Mendoza hostage drama in the heart of Manila. No amount of damage control after the fact can undo the damage done or even just to pacify the frustration felt by the Chinese official and the rest of the Chinese community. P.Noy’s image has been tainted and he is now seen as an incompetent leader by the rest of the world no thanks to himself, his own staff and the media empire owned and operated by his family and friends.
As they say, first impressions last and as far as first impressions go for P.Noy, his inaction during and apparent insensitivity after the tragic event were a total PR disaster here and abroad. And as they say, the first cut is the deepest and as far as first cuts go for P.Noy, it cut to the bone — the core of his leadership skills. Time might heal the wounds but there will always be a scar to remind people about it. I can quote all the cliché’s applicable to P.Noy in this situation but it still won’t save P.Noy’s reputation. He is on his own big time.
Even attempts by his minions in the survey firm Social Weather Station (SWS) to publish an “improved lives” rating seems so lame. One can only wonder why a two-month old survey conducted prior to P.Noy’s presidential proclamation would be published right after the Mendoza hostage tragedy. It just goes to show how everyone around P.Noy has bad taste, particularly when they say “Four in 10 Filipinos are optimistic that their lives will improve in the first year of the Aquino administration.” When will SWS get it right?!? It would help if they asked the right people and conducted it at the right time. And it would have been a cheaper and more accurate exercise if they just counted all the hate messages on P.Noy’s Facebook account on line.
After the smoke has cleared, it seems likely that any promises of a “thorough investigation” of the incident will mean very little as far as preventing the same thing from happening again. As of this writing, there is one report of Justice undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar announcing that, “two government agencies have started investigating Monday’s bloody hostage crisis. ” To quote:
“The parallel investigation is being conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
And another one that…
“A top-level government panel will look into the “institutional problems ” of the police and other state agencies which could have led to the tragic conclusion to Monday’s hostage-taking incident, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
The justice official said Robredo will head the committee, with De Lima as vice chair and Philippine National Police Director General Jesus Verzosa, National Bureau of Investigation Director Magtanggol Gatdula and PNP-Internal Affairs Service chief Director Ifor Magbanua as members.
Salazar said the committee’s recommendations will be the blueprint in crafting guidelines which the PNP and other concerned state agencies will follow in dealing with hostage-taking incidents.
The output of the inquiry may also be used as guideline for the media in their reportage of similar news events, he said.
“We intend to have guidelines which should be provided for both the media and the police… so we can handle (hostage crisis) and avoid the results which we saw two nights ago,” Salazar said, adding:
“The partnership of the media and the government is crucial in any incidents like this one.”
The above investigation is separate from what the Philippine National Police will be conducting which they say will carry out the “criminal, administrative, and human rights aspects of the investigation”.
Whew!!! If you ask me, and to borrow another saying: too many cooks spoil the broth. All these “investigations” will be just wasted effort because none of the activities mentioned above is geared towards rehabilitating the culture of hopelessness that bore down on the late Rolando Mendoza after allegedly being unfairly dismissed from the police force.
It is in fact, none other than P.Noy himself who contributed to the environment of distrust when he dismissed people without due process. This was initially evident when he wanted to dismiss Chief Justice Corona and the many other public servants who he keeps referring to as former President Gloria Arroyo’s “midnight appointees.”
Who cries for people like Rolando Mendoza anyway? Hardly anyone feels sorry for the deceased hostage taker. People think he was a lunatic for initiating the events that snowballed into the disaster that reduced our country to a global laughingstock. But I say that he was a desperate man who was driven to doing something extremely deadly or fatalistic just to get some attention. I am not excusing him but he was obviously not in his right mind. He was in a fragile state. Anyone could have easily experienced the frustration he went through and slipped into lunacy once pushed over the brink of sanity. It was indeed a dog day the whole day for a highly distressed man who felt he had nothing to lose.
The truth is, with all this “heads will roll” grandstanding being thrown around lately (to be exact, four officers were already suspended pending investigation), I have a feeling there are many Philippine police officers who are experiencing low morale at the moment. Most of the fingers are pointed at them when, to be fair to them, it is also the role of the government to allocate funds for their training and to ensure that they are highly motivated and committed to their duties to protect and serve the citizens. Someone’s got to protect them too.
As the head of state, P.Noy needs to overcome a culture of distrust and get employees to share information first and foremost. Let’s not entirely look down on the entire police force for botching the rescue operation. Responsibility for recognizing the average police officer’s need for more training falls on someone higher up in their ranks including the commander-in-chief.
P.Noy as the leader should take a revolutionary step: take issues to public servants like the police force for resolution. Focus groups at various levels of the organization can be formed to answer such questions as: What’s wrong with communications at the company level? The department level? Team level? Upward/downward? Peer to peer? More importantly, he should use a systemic approach to develop solutions to the problems that have been identified. These are just small initiatives that any one with experience in a blue chip company or anyone with a strong political background can handle. Sadly, P.Noy does not have both so it is going to take more than 100 days for him to shape up and exhibit true leadership.
Many of us knew deep inside that it was just a matter of time before a crisis like this revealed the true extent of our public servants’ incompetence not to mention that of P.Noy Aquino. I’m sure I could speak for everyone in saying that none of us wanted something like this to happen.
About the Author
ilda has written 57 stories on this site.
Ilda is agent provocateur. She wants to help people realise that things are not always what they seem.
Comments on “Mendoza’s hostage drama and P-Noy’s culture of distrust”
Hong Kong Nationals, I know how you feel. I’m also in deep disgrace of how our president acted on the situation. I feel more ashamed as being a Filipino as the continuation of how Abnoy runs things here… I’m also pissed off on Abnoy and his continuity of smiling to the camera. He still doesn’t care on Foreign Relations… And I really hate him a lot more than you guys can ever imagine!
I also read in the news that Rolando was a nice man before some certain incident brought him to the brink of chaos and cost the lives of these Hong Kong Nationals.
This will take some time to heal… But for how long!?
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“Four in 10 Filipinos are optimistic that their lives will improve in the first year of the Aquino administration.”
Even their lame attempt at damage control is a big fail; if 4 in 10 are optimistic, that means 6 in 10 are at best indifferent, or worse, pessimistic.
The only aspect of your point of view I’d disagree with, and this is a thought I’ve shared a few times over the past couple of days, is that I’m not inclined to cut Mendoza any slack for being “pushed to the brink” or suffering some kind of personal economic dead-end as a result of his dismissal. We all know that it’s like pulling hen’s teeth to remove a corrupt official from any agency, and he was no small fish in the PNP — I can’t say he was absolutely guilty of what he was accused of, but knowing how the system works here, I would be very surprised if he was innocent of it. His drastic action tends to reinforce that impression, as well.
Looking at it from that perspective, that makes the handling of the affair by the police all the more creepy, IMO. Here was a guy they probably already knew was a thug and in his own way had brought discredit on their organization, compounding the shame by several orders of magnitude by pulling a dangerous stunt like this — and yet they were timid and uncertain in their approach. Now, as a result, the PNP everywhere has lost all credibility, and there are probably a good many people who fear them, and with some justification, I think. Of course, after seeing their tourist photos in front of the bus, I can see where their heads are at, so I wonder why I even bother trying to analyze the whole thing.
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
that’s one problem, the fellow PNP took Mendoza lightly from the start, when they could even have grabbed and disarmed him few times, They should really investigate those Negotiators too, i wonder why they were claimed trained abroad, and who was the President referring to as the EXPERTS on that field/situation…
by saying that his unlikely a good leader, and if those were the experts then what could have the outcome be if he interfered ?
two song for you Mr. President —”Telephone” by Gaga and “Your Smiling Face” by Side A
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Aegis-Judex Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Four in ten Flips? That means the other six, according to the Yellow Zombies, aren’t Flips. Of those six, how many of them are from AP?
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ilda Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
@Benk
That’s a fair enough assessment. Mendoza certainly had other options apart from hijacking a tourist bus. He just wasn’t thinking straight like most Filipinos who vote for someone like P.Noy.
Most people would write off the entire Police force after this. Since they have very little credibility now and even before the tragic event, it is also fair to say that we will never truly know if Mendoza was telling the truth or if we’ll ever know the real facts behind whose bullets managed to kill the tourists. P.Noy needs to bring honesty and integrity back to the police force.
There are reports coming out too that none of Mendoza’s bullets hit the victims. I just hope this information won’t infuriate further the already angry Chinese community.
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Anonylol Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
>”There are reports coming out too that none of Mendoza’s bullets hit the victims. I just hope this information won’t infuriate further the already angry Chinese community.”
I saw them talking on a messageboard about this. A few were very very angry. Most were just stunned with disbelief.
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ilda Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 1:34 am
And yet there are some Filipinos who do not understand why the Chinese people are angry. How bizaarre does this look: Filipinos are angry because the Chinese are angry about the death of the Chinese tourists.
P.Noy supporters are tools!
rejected ng china yung delegation ni pnoy. :p
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The Philippine Guild Reply:
August 28th, 2010 at 1:29 am
china does not trust noynoy anymore. issue of trust yan eh. now noynoy feels what GMA felt when the yellow media bombarded the Filipinos with hate campaign to distrust her every single day of her term when all she did during that time was work, work, work. now, noynoy, try working around this hoopla of yours. and do not depend on your sisters putting yellow flowers on the site of the hostage-taking crisis. those yellow flowers na nasa front page ng mga newspapers is another communications group attack. kadiri. promotion pa rin ng yellow fever. bad taste of promotion.
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mel Reply:
August 28th, 2010 at 1:47 am
I agree. The Yellow Zombies are trying to save the first 100 days of PNoy with Kris Aquino as Ambassador of Dengue (volunteers from other countries are doing the same for many years now and nobody acknowledges them!!!), his sisters saying “Let us pray” and the latest the massive registration for Philhealth members. How will he finance this health insurance? There is no proper planning to this, only a rescue to put some positive headlines in the newspapers, just like the nonsense SWS survey!
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If China rejected Pnoy’s envoy, then we should take advantage of this momentum to start the boycott and strike to bring down the incompetence and theft of our government and the oligarchs. Are PAL employees still striking?
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The Philippine Guild Reply:
August 28th, 2010 at 1:25 am
sabi ni noynoy his website welcomes reviews daw pero sorry ka na lang kasi sinara na nya to. pag naman pumunta ka sa media, they will just rape you. pero marami pa namang means to let noynoy listen kasi nga sabi ni ted casino of GMA, “pinasok n’ya ang larangang ito (politika) kaya ‘di namin sya tatantanan (hanggang sa house of reps).” likewise, di namin tatantanan si noynoy kasi pinasok nya ang larangang ito kahit na gusto nyang sabihin na pinilit lang naman sya ng mga sisters nya. asus!
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ejected from Malacanang during the Lost Decade, what makes you haters think that the True Heir (of the Best President We Never Had) himself can be removed, especially since he is still so very much the Peoples Champion of the Common Man?! Hahahahahaha, all you haters can do now is to learn to live with it until 2016, like what the rest of the real Filipinos had to do for the past 10 years hahahahahaha.
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ChinoF Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Yeah, we’ll have to learn to live with more incompetence and botched operations like this one for the next six years… and more needless deaths… all thanks to Yellow zombies like you, Contrabida2010.
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palebluedot_ Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
who’s the best president we never had? abnoy’s father?!? aysus….his motives are doubtful to date. read more about him so your eyes will be opened on how that so-called hero manipulated things politically…
abnoy is people’s champion of the common man?!? right…champion nga nang common man. you’re talking about yourself as common man, di ba? sige, i share to you interesting synonyms of the word “common” ha…
COMMON: (1) bourgeois (materialistic, middle-class, traditional), (2) conformable (follow nang follow, submissive, walang sariling utak, zombie), (3) hackneyed (antiquated, corny, moth-eaten (nilalangaw?), outdated, pedestrian, stale, unoriginal, tired, uninspired, unoriginal, worn-out, baduy!), (4) MEDIOCRE, (5) stale (mabaho?), (6) undistinguished (insignificant, not worthy of notice), (7) wearisome (boring, tiresome, causing annoyance).
o ayan! sana alam mo na who you really are…the common man idolizing an abnormal man…
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Of the common man? it just happened that filipinos falls quickly to USO or trends he just got popular by trending not really considered a Hero, imagine His mom without being ready became president just because a group considered peoples sympathy for Ninoy’s death an advantage to make people blindly vote for Her, just because she died people started trending her as a hero and saint too
BUT WAIT!!! had we forgotten how corrupt her gov’t was??? How they manipulated the people to put Gloria on seat??? then like butterflies they left Gloria when her Scent starts to fade… BUT WAIT AGAIN THERE’S MORE!!! Imagine another selfish motivated strategist suddenly took advantage again of that overwhelming sympathy and convinced Uncle Noynoy to grab the momentum and run… Genius idea and even made Mr. Walang Iwanan forget his Motto…
How com he be my or our Hero??? he just won by sympathy and trending??? Your Hero a Puppet??? A man he calls himself pretending to still need sometime and confer to the church and ask his mother if he should run??? A Hero whom let Lives be lost without even thinking a phone might just have saved all or even more of those victims…
Sorry contrabida but your Hero is Zero, and I’d Smile and Smirk on that
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Dino Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Stop it. You are just embarrassing yourself. GMA handled a coup against 300 armed military soldiers in Oakwood with the correct steps a simple person would have expected and no lives lost.
Noynoy couldn’t even handle one (1) disgruntled police officer at the minimum expected efficiency. Once PNOY finds himself without anyone to blame and without excuses for incompetence and inexperience, then I wouldn’t be surprised if people turned their backs on him.
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palebluedot_ Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
hah! check jv ejercito’s blame game:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/199486/gloria-nangakong-susubaybayan-ang-imbestigasyon-sa-manila-hostage-taking
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Dino Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Check out the comments! Pinoy name calling once again! Parang mga batang nagaaway at nagaalaskahan sa grade school!
Garnet Alexa Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
I pity you. You have been so deluded into thinking that our president (I shudder just thinking of it) is a “champion” of the “common man”. Also, it is an illogical assumption that the “best president we never had” is his father. I do not doubt that there are many more qualified for the job of president than him or his father.
Also, don’t you think that if Noynoy was a “champion”, in any sense of the word, he would’ve been able to stop the tragedy from turning bloody.
I refuse to live with the incompetence of the government. As a citizen of this country, I will not settle for mediocrity. Our country has so much potential to progress. Accepting this government as anything but incompetent is like playing blind to the truth that is in front of you.
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The Philippine Guild Reply:
August 28th, 2010 at 1:19 am
1) yes we hate noynoy for being stupid and arrogant because we love our country 2) and no we don’t want him removed from power because we have no choice but to watch his stupidity and moronic performance until 2016 3) but if nature insists on putting him aside as moronic leader then why not, we welcome it.
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palibhasa mga noypi KSP, gusto laging may balita sa international scene, kahit mga kabulukan, kabobohan, dahil sa mga abnoy at jologs sa lipunan, dahil sa inutil na mga media, estudyanteng may mga litrato sa facebook, at presidenteng abnoy, pinagtatawanan na naman tayo sa buong mundo, NAIINTINDIHAN NYO BA??? hala sige! iboto nyo pa ulit mga bobong artista gaya nila bong revilla at mag amang jinggoy at erap na nagsipag TOP 2 sa nakaraang pagwawaldas na eleksyon! mga bobo
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
tama , at si Sen Bong magpapa bida pa para magpasa daw ng Anti-usesero Bill???
Sir Bong isa kang mambabatas dpat alam mo covered na yan at may naipasa na tungkol jan… di ka ba umabot sa negotiation kya nagpapahabol ka? or sadyang di kyo nagsipuntahan dahil tpos nman na ang election… or kse foreigners kya di nman kyo maiboboto next election???
Baril at Pera lng tlaga kelangan para umangat di po ba? or dpat sing sikat ni Kris na modelo ng modern Filipina? well siguro malapit nyo na po pamana ang senado kay Jolo???
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(Fixed) If the Evil Bitch herself could not be ejected from Malacanang during the Lost Decade, what makes you haters think that the True Heir (of the Best President We Never Had) himself can be removed, especially since he is still so very much the Peoples Champion of the Common Man?! Hahahahahaha, all you haters can do now is to learn to live with it until 2016, like what the rest of the real Filipinos had to do for the past 10 years hahahahahaha.
[Reply]
BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Of the common man? it just happened that filipinos falls quickly to USO or trends he just got popular by trending not really considered a Hero, imagine His mom without being ready became president just because a group considered peoples sympathy for Ninoy’s death an advantage to make people blindly vote for Her, just because she died people started trending her as a hero and saint tooBUT WAIT!!! had we forgotten how corrupt her gov’t was??? How they manipulated the people to put Gloria on seat??? then like butterflies they left Gloria when her Scent starts to fade… BUT WAIT AGAIN THERE’S MORE!!! Imagine another selfish motivated strategist suddenly took advantage again of that overwhelming sympathy and convinced Uncle Noynoy to grab the momentum and run… Genius idea and even made Mr. Walang Iwanan forget his Motto…How com he be my or our Hero??? he just won by sympathy and trending??? Your Hero a Puppet??? A man he calls himself pretending to still need sometime and confer to the church and ask his mother if he should run??? A Hero whom let Lives be lost without even thinking a phone might just have saved all or even more of those victims… Sorry contrabida but your Hero is Zero, and I’d Smile and Smirk on that
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Ano naman ngayon kung pinagtatawanan tayo aber? Mamatay ba tayo? Hindi na ba tayo pwedeng sumabay sa pakikitawa din sa sarili natin? Palibhasa kasi, napakahina ng loob mo, babae o bakla ka ba? Kung tunay na lalake ka, iyan ang dapat mong ikahiya, na kalalake mong tao pero takot na takot ka sa iisipin ng ibang tao sa iyo. Ang tunay na lalake, walang pakialam dapat, dahil nga lalake siya, at hindi niya kailangan ng kahit anong pag-aapruba ng ibang tao!
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Jay Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Ang tunay na lalake, walang pakialam dapat, dahil nga lalake siya,
Ang tunay na ignorante ay isang pa la isipan na kahit anung gawin mo, wag mung bigay pake elam ang epekto sa ibang tao. Imbis na isipin mo muna kung anu ang gagawin mo bago kumilos, gawin mo na at kung anu man ang lumabas, patigasin mo ang ulo mo at lalong ipataas mo ang pagiging ignorante. Ganun po ang tunay na pinoy. Isang tunay a JUANDELACRUZ. Walang respeto sa logic o intellihente, pero kung gaano ka bobo pwede maging ang isang tao.
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
@JuanDelaCruz aka Bayani aka contrabida
ah kya po pla parang nka ngisi pa at natatawa si Abnoy nung nagpahayag ng pag damay pareho kyo ng pananaw…
at kya pla para siyang walang paki alam sa tunay na nangyayari ganun pla ang tunay na lalake
at kya din pla di nya kailangan ng pag aaprove ng sinuman kung mag aasawa nba sya o kung anu ba isusuot nya, mag wiwig ba? so anu pla si Kris?
sa totoo lng po khit ayoko kay Gloria Mas tunay na lalake pa siya kay NgoyNgoy kung sa pag harap rin lng sa crisis at wla din paki alam si Gloria kung corrupt xa o hinde in due time matututo rin siguro si Gnoy sa guro nya…
o yeah sa sinabi mo na wla magagawa dhil xa na nka upo, well kung gnun nga di ok sna lng walang mangyaring masama sa kanya bka kse dahil sa simpatya nnaman biglang si Joshua na ang ilukluk.
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Kotobuki Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Hindi na tayo pinagtatawanan. Kinapopootan na tayo. Kahit ba nanggagalaiti na sa galit ang mundo sa atin ay wala pa rin tayong pakialam?
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Anonylol Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
>”Ang tunay na lalake, walang pakialam dapat, dahil nga lalake siya,”
Sounds like Autism to me. But then again “Ang tunay na lalaki ay autistic” doesn’t have a the same macho sound doesn’t it?
How was the Pleistocene era? Allow me to welcome you to the 21st Century. No no! Bad Juan! Plates are not for eating!
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Dino Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Typical na misguided machismo. Ang tunay na lalake, may pakialam sa lipunan. Ang tunay nalalaki, hindi lang tawa ng tawa sa maling nangayari. Gumagalaw – Binabago ang sariling kapalaran. Dahil matapang niyang aaminin kung mali siya o mali ang lipunan na ginagalawan niya. Ang paslit na bata lang dapat ang walang pakialam sa mundo at hinahayaang maging bata. Kapag lumaki ka na bilang ganap na lalaki, hindi na pupuwedeng hayaan ka sa mga ginagawa mong katarantaduhan. Kaya nga puwede ka nang ikulong pagmatanda ka na, at kung bata ka, DSWD lang. Kapag may ginawa kang mali sa mata ng iba bilang isang bayan man o indibidual, susuriin mo kung may basehan ang reaksyon ng kawpa mo, ang kung sa tingin mo may pagkukulang ka, hindi ka magtatago sa tawa-tawa o pangiti-ngiti o pag kamot ng ulo. Bilang lalaki haharapin mo ang responsibilidad ng maling nagawa mo. Yan ang tunay na lalaki.
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juan dela cruz ka ba talaga? o juan tamad? hindi takot ang dapat maramdaman ng mga bobong katulad mo, kundi kahihiyan. dahil kung di mo lang alam kung paano alipustahin ang mga pilipino sa labas ng pinas at kung ano magiging “impact” nito sa mga overseas pinoys na nagpapakain sa iyo at nagpapalobo ng ekonomiya ng bansang pilipinas, nararapat na ma-realize ng lahat na may dapat ayusin sa mga pangyayaring ito! maliwanag na katangahan na nga ang mga pangyayari, magmamalaki ka pa!? bobo kayo talaga
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Jay Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Well its kinda funny since were on the issue of tunay na lalake, the former president has done more for the country yet JUANDELACRUZ is using his mucho-macho sexist mindset. His alpha idiot leader of the country can’t do anything, so instead he’ll just show his swagger like his alpha idiot idol.
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I am still trying to figure out: How a Police Captain, who had invested most of his lifetime in his career as a Police Officer; could turn into a Killing Machine Hostage Taker. There is something Fishy about his case. He just wanted to be given a review of his pending case, that had caused his dismissal. Mayor Lim of Manila, and the Police Captain Mendoza, had some unresolved animosities, I believe. The late Police Captain saw his career and his life being shattered in the wind. So, he resorted into this kind of Hostage taking. The Man, just wanted to be heard; and to be dealt with fairly. I believe, a thorough investigation will prevent future occurances like this one. It is very tragic. Because, it showed the incompetence of our President, to the international community. It showed also the irresponsibility of the Media People. With the insensitivity of the Crowds, who are not supposed to be there. We will all learn from this tragic incident. We hope, it will make our Police Officers better.
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UP nn grad Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Mendoza was wrong to have thought that the hostage-taking was the only option.
Apparently, he could have gone to the
Court of Appeals to at least put a TRO (temp-restraining order) and he remains in service somewhere while his appeal to the Ombudsman was going through the legal processes.
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ilda Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
He was pushed to his limits. Unfortunately, because we currently do not have any protection in place for whistle blowers, that was the only solution he could think of. Which is why the problem is more complicated that what P.Noy and his secretaries think. Everything should be overhauled. They can’t just investigate what happened last Monday and say, “Ok, we’ll have a media blackout next time and the police will not charge ahead again.”
The problem did not just start last Monday, it is embedded in the dysfunctional system which should be changed. Obviously, there is a problem with communication. All Mendoza wanted was someone who could listen to him so he could air out his grievance. He needed someone who would take him seriously and possibly help give him a satisfactory resolution.
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
He could even had go directly to a respected media personnel specially if he has to say something too about dark secrets within their rank, yet that requires lot of risk since he wouldn’t know if those media man too are involved or have connections.
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pera o puri?
hindi naman pera gusto ng hostage taker, kundi mabalik ang kanyang puri! simple!
eh di sana ipinangako sa kanya na rereview-hin na lang ang kaso nya! case close
andami kasing sakim at bobo sa lipunan
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
sna nag lifeline ng ng mga phone a friend si President para na areglo ang mga bagay bagay
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ilda Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 1:41 am
I have to say, this made me laugh, hahaha
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BAYAGNI JUANDELACRUZ… lintek din ang hirit mo ah… parang lucky 9… nueve na eh, hirit ka pa rin…
flipland will never, i repeat, never rise up to any, i repeat, to any occasion… 90% of flips are gung gongs. 9% are magnanakaws, 1% medyo matino. an elementary police scenario, flips could not figure how to handle it…. of all things… a sledgehammer??!!… hay naku… mga gung gongs!
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BAYAGNI JUANDELACRUZ… lintek din ang hirit mo ah… parang lucky 9… nueve na eh, hirit ka pa rin…
flipland will never, i repeat, never rise up to any, i repeat, to any occasion… 90% of flips are gung gongs. 9% are magnanakaws, 1% medyo matino. an elementary police scenario, flips could not figure out how to handle it…. of all things… a sledgehammer??!!… hay naku… mga gung gongs!
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no censored faces… just pure shame to out idiot citizens…
[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs298.snc4/41236_1371411326943_1281562299_30870381_5922312_n.jpg[/img]
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Ryunken Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Now… The whole world will truly see the great shame and disgrace that some of us are truly affected… Yet, others relish and savor the deaths of these Hong Kong Nationals and take their stupid chance to take a picture in front of that bus…
My words of advice… STOP TAKING PICTURES ALREADY! You’re going to agitate Hong Kong… And it could pretty much piss off the whole world… Which would bring us more shame and disgrace… Which I wouldn’t wish to be a part of!
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*typo error
our idiot citizens..
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talk about inaction. Noynoy is yet to issue his apologies to HK
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/26/10/hk-legislator-wants-answers-apology-noynoy
“I think Hong Kong people are really very unhappy at the way President [Benigno] Aquino [III] responded to questions. He appeared frivolous and dismissive to the losses of Hong Kong people again,” said the legislative council member.
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Ilda, your article gives an equilibrium to the current situation.
There are good policemen and bad policemen.
Personally, I experienced the bad policemen when I was in Camalig, Albay in 2005. I complained about a greedy Barangay Captain and Secretary who tried several times to get bribes from me after setting up a private child-help project in one of the poorest barangays in that area. (Quirangay). Reporting it to the police made the situation worser. The policemen have good ties with the respondents and I was threatened instead of getting help. My case reached the MILG in Camalig, and the DILG in Albay but I was left alone with my problem. I was about to consult the Ombudsman but I got death threats and was harassed. For three (3) consecutive days, I was locked up inside my home until friends and relatives come to rescue. I left the place for good but I maintained the project.
This experience gave me a a feeling of distrust towards the police and local politicians. It led to conclusion that “they do things together”.
But what if I am wrong with my distrust to Mendoza? What if he really belonged to the good and honest policemen and the complainant was the one saving himself from landing behind bars. What if the latter has good connections to politicians? See my dilemma?
We have a chaotic authorities and a directionless society. This nation needs a serious and competent leader who can give clear goals and convey strong visions. PNoy is lacking such qualities. After that hostage-taking fiasco, he really needs to show his leadership qualities, or else we will all be living in anarchy!
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Mostly, and Sadly most applies as Police and politicians not for Public Service but for greed and Power, honestly i dont know how or will it still be possible to end… i had lost my faith with our systems even before i quitted the PMA, coz even from there, which should have been the core to train develop us, wrong doings are seen and passed on that is even PMA graduates abuses, the trend for ideals had been set way wrong. Scary nowadays to involve into something without morethan one witnesses for the perpetrators can easily round the table and worst the authorities you may think can help most of the time are biased…
“Public Service is Public Trust” but now “Public Service in Public Mistrust”
“To Protect and Serve” now means “To Protect and Serve Ourselves”
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silvercrest Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
I very much agree with you. You acquire the honor code and you expect the institution to guide you through it but it leads somewhere else.
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Hyden Toro Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Things will be better, once this imbecile President is gone. The Aquinos has already reached their peak. This Hostage event is the begining of their downward spiral. What goes up, usually comes down. All their bags of political tricks are now exhausted. From Hacienda Luisita to KamagAnak, Inc.
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Lilly Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
The problem is that most of the policemen entered the force not to serve the country, but just to earn money and make a living. Hence, we see more kotong cops than honest-to-goodness hero policemen.
The military has more principles than the sorry policemen–they’re the grunts who get ordered around to hunt for the Abu Sayyaf and get their own numbers killed on a regular basis. On the other hand, the police are just chilling around, taking kotong every now and then, and power-tripping.
And yet when an elite army group offered its services to save the hostages, the polcement turned them down. To hog the limelight all to themselves, perhaps? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11105097
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ilda Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
That’s a good point. They should also overhaul the whole recruitment process in the police deparment. It’s going to be hard to filter out those with genuine motivation to serve and protect. Obviously, those who are only motivated by the salary and prestige of being part of the force will include everyone in the deparment.
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silvercrest Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Correct. I’m an academy graduate and I say recruits are not joining not because they want to serve, instead, it’s all about the prestige, the power and later on, the money.
Once inside, you are indoctrinated with the Honor Code but the further you go on, you find out that it’s nothing but an exam that you can easily discard when you pass.
Prestige is good if you deserve it. When you can be relied upon to do the job. Being in the service nowadays is like a cosplay.
This kind of mentality is already in our culture. Even high school CAT officers bully other students. Then they join the academy or even some maritime schools and they act as if they are untouchable elite soldiers! Yet when faced with the real deal, they scamper like rats. What more can come out of them when they become police or military officers?
Will Filipinos ever strive for real excellence?
ilda Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
@mel
Sorry to hear about your horrible experience. That is something that innocent citizens like yourself should never have to endure. But that is exactly what happens when you give ammunition to people who have no real virtues like some members of the PNP.
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thank you for pointing out the evil, manipulative and yellow-oriented surveys that are so misplaced in the publishing and broadcast industries. so hardsell.
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ilda Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
It was a pleasure.
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The Philippine Guild Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 5:04 am
until now i don’t understand how such a survey appeared on page 2 of Philippine star a day after the hostage-taking crisis to think that it was, as formally published, facilitated two months ago. now, we don’t even know if the survey was really performed at all. and if you watch the news on TV every single day, news programs reserve at least a few seconds of airtime for such surveys like we all signed up for it or like it’s a national thing. more like gossip fodder to me. parang blind item lang.
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Bakit may nag-aaway? Yun ang problema sa atin eh, instead na mag unawaan, naglalabanan. Nagsasakitan sa kung anu-anong masasakit na salita. Pwede naman i-voice out o sabihin ng maayos ang opinyon natin ng walang nagsasakitan.
Kaya ayun, yun ang nangyari kay Mendoza hindi napunta sa mabuting usapan kaya ayun may namatay.
Yun lang po
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Aegis-Judex Reply:
August 26th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
“The first person to raise his fist shows that he has no more arguments.”
-Chinese proverb
The average Flip is not a thinking person, he is a fighting person. He focuses not on negotiation, opting instead for what those afflicted with unreasonable machismo consider the “manly way:” Negotiation with the Sword. That’s why we kill instead of understand.
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Jay Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 3:09 am
Its easy to say the entire situation was full of mis-communication which ultimately led to confusion and chaos. As from the latest article brought by BongV from Scott Stuart, in hostage situations the negotiator controls the flow of information. Instead Mendoza was getting the TV and calls not only from police but the media. Then while the Chinese claim to have been trying to call the president, Noy’s PR put a spin that created miscommunication, which is ironic since noynoy was giving everyone the impression that he was accessible. Which then led to the fact that the Philippine SAF was on standby and ready for action and instead (and mysteriously) the orders to continue went to the PNP.
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That is what happens when you vote for popularity instead of merit.
Noynoyistas, you dumbfvcks have it coming.
Another election-related poem:
This vote I cast
I would not allow fame and mediocrity
To triumph over merit and sagacity.
That is because when sages are trounced by fools,
The nation would be a nation – of tools!
With those who value knowledge I cast my vote;
For intellect and merit, I board my boat.
For law, for order, for people and light,
These votes I cast, as is my right.
My homeland has stumbled throughout the ages,
An iota in history’s numerous pages.
Progress under sages is what I desire,
For it shall deliver us from stupidity’s quagmire.
I cast my vote not because I must,
But because it is meet and just
For triumph to fall on those with wisdom,
And not on those who treat this nation like a kingdom.
“The nation would be a nation – of tools!” No thanks to Pnoy, we’re screwed.
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ilda Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 1:11 am
Good one Aegis!
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BagongJuan Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 1:11 am
Another example of quality over quantity
sad to say it applies even during election that quality votes were taken over by quantity of ignorance.
relating to the incident, a squad of SAF would have been enough that more than a dozen of untrained swats wanna be.
for our future, learning needs quality not quantity, adding up few more school years wouldn’t help but may turn other way around for it could add up to the boredom and expenses the students had to suffer. instead the government should study and find effective ways to enhance learning in shorter period of time, time is of the essence. Learn fast, practice more and implement efficiently… otherwise if they insist to increase the years of learning expect a growing number of bwangbwangs to increase, that’ll be scary yellow bwang-bwang zombie army….
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Garnet Alexa Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 3:37 am
I agree. I think that for their plan to “elevate” education to succeed, what they need to focus on first is finding better teachers. Because a lot of people are misinformed and when you correct them they say “Yun ang natutunan ko eh”.
I think there’s nothing wrong with adding more years to the education system. But they should also know that not many Filipinos would be able to afford letting their children go to school for such a long time.
As for me, I wouldn’t mind more years. As long as they taught more things in the classroom that would be useful for when you get to college.
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“The average Flip is not a thinking person, he is a fighting person”
Kaya nga tayo mahuhusay kahit paano sa boxing at ibang combat sports eh, anong gusto ninyo, pati ba naman iyon mawala na ng tuluyan sa atin? Susmaryosep! Diyan na nga lang tayo magaling, gusto niyo pang tanggalin?! Suhestiyon ko lang, kung ganun ka obsessed kayo na mabura ang asal na ito sa lahing Pinoy, i-ban niyo ang ating tunay na pambansang isport na SABONG (pati na ang ibang bloodsports kagaya ng dog/horse-fighting atbp). Pero hindi kailan man mangyayari iyon kahit sa katapusan mismo ng mundo. Hehehehehehe, ika nga sa Ingles – Good Luck With That!
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palebluedot_ Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 2:46 am
u did not get the gist of the statement you quoted. and when did ****fighting became the national sport of the philippines? it’s a pastime…not a sports LOL. di mo yata alam ano meaning nang sports ano?
and please be reminded that WE are not magaling in boxing. only manny pacquiao & some individuals are magaling. you are only good as cheerer of them. cguro kung tutulakin ka sa boxing ring, you’d cower like a mabahong daga…like your real idol who’s weary to answer HK Chang’s call.
“Susmaryosep! Diyan na nga lang tayo magaling, gusto niyo pang tanggalin?!”
This statement just shows how mediocre you strive to be. An anti-elitist mentality to the hilt…
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Aegis-Judex Reply:
August 28th, 2010 at 5:58 am
Amen! Personally, as human beings. we can be more than what we are now. That is precisely why humanity has progressed. What that lesser mind wanted was most likely a regression into the Dark Ages. Kutob lang ka sa mga aktibidad panglawas? Unsa’y gamit ana kung wala ka’y huna-huna? Kung yamo’y utok ang tawo, unsa na lang siya kung dili oripun sa mga naa’y utok? There are some of us with physical talent, Juan. In that, I have to agree, but what use is a body without a mind? Mao na ang rason nganong ingon-ana ang mga Pinoy: Kutob ra sila sa lawas, pero kulang intawon ang utok. Just like the Dark Ages.
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Jay Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 3:14 am
@JUANDELACRUZ
There is a thin line between courage and stupidity.
At yung binugha mo tungkul sa pag alaman ng pinoy sa paki pag laban ay lalong pinatyunayan na kahit kelan, estupido parin sila at lalo na, ikaw pa.
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Aegis-Judex Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
What I’m saying is simple: Finding an intellectual Filipino is like finding a needle in a haystack. How else can you explain the lack of COMPETENT Filipinos in leadership positions?
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The Hongkies and the rest of the Chinese are, right now, very sensitive about all things that are related to hijacking event. And it’s sad that us filipinos just keep on adding salt to injury. Heck, even in Chinese populated SIngapore and Taiwan, the Filipino’s disrespectul (bordering on ignorance) antics are big news.
http://www.asiaone.com/static/multimedia/gallery/100823_hijack/
http://club.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/caught_in_the_act/442796/another_outrageous_act_filipinos_allow_dead_hijack_victims.html?action=stomp_rating_submit&article=contentbean%253A442796&rating=3
it’ll probably be a long time before their anti-filipino sentiments start to dwindle….
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ilda Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Thanks for the link. You can see the stark contrast in the way the Chinese people react to the tragedy. While the Chinese were in a solemn and grim mood, the Filipinos were just posing and grinning for Facebook. The real tragedy there is that there are actually Filipinos who do not see anything wrong with what they did.
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There were many instances the police could have taken Mendoza out. When he was standing by the door, a rubber bullet gun could have been utilize to put him down. This will hurt him but not kill him. All praises to the Aquino and PNP for quick action….unfortunately it did not happen this way. I don’t think the PNP is equipped with rubber bullet gun anyhow.
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Sorry I meant the comment below for this blog not the
http://antipinoy.com/a-botched-hostage-rescue-in-the-philippines-stratfor/comment-page-1/#comment-23488
one.
Personally I don’t blame Noynoy for the bungling of the rescue attempt. Why? To hold him responsible is to suggest I had expectations he could control an organization like the Police. He has never controlled anything or anyone before. He is the one being controlled. My other thoughts on “HIs Excellency” below
http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1176/Tie_A_Yellow_Ribbon_Around_An_International_Incident_
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ilda Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 9:13 am
The botched rescue operation is entirely a separate matter from the pathetic inaction of P.Noy to appease the Chinese government and its people during and after the ordeal. We all know he couldn’t be the one talking Mendoza out of the bus (although it should not be below him to do those things). But the least he could have done was to be available for the HK officials and to show some kind of leadership to the entire Philippine population when everyone was feeling distraught. Likewise, his display of insensitivity during the press conference was totally disgusting.
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True Ilda. What we did we see was ABS/ CBN Thought Police and Ex Thought Police that now work for the palace churning in high gear in an effort to make Noynoy look in charge. Blame the HK for not ” following protocol” when they are the aggrieved party. Like I said in my opening line in my blog “Dang he is a moron”.
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let’s just hope that the super power CHINA won’t launch their nukes on our pathetic country out of anger and erase the PHILIPPINES from the world map…
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Aegis-Judex Reply:
August 30th, 2010 at 1:18 am
@Lenra: Actually, I’m hoping the Chinks do a precision nuke… Blow Manila to Kingdom Come, instead of obliterating the entire state.