command responsibility
everyone’s blaming the police for incompetence and the media for oversharing. i blame the president for not sending a representative to take charge on his behalf, like maybe the vice-president, yeah, rambotito himself, why ever not, or sige na nga the dilg secretary, but someone of national prominence, someone smart, someone with authority, because i have no doubt that it would have made a huge difference.
in a presscon today ricky carandang said that the president decided not to show himself or be part of negotiations because his fear, or that of his advisers? was that the hostage-taker’s demands might escalate kung siya mismo ang kausap. but did it not occur to them that part of the hostage-taker’s agitation might have been brought on by the fact that no one important was talking to him? i mean, you know, isko moreno? bakit naman niya papansinin ang isang pipitsuging vice-mayor.
and really if someone smart had been in charge, then released hostages might have been thoroughly debriefed and it would have been found out that the hostage-taker had a tv set in the bus, even if it hadn’t been turned on yet. it would have been smart to assume that mendoza might check it out eventually,reason enough to impose a media blackout earlier in the day. then the brother might never have staged that scene that added to the hostage-taker’s agitation.
what upsets me is that the only palace statement from sonny coloma was to the effect that the safety of the hostages was of utmost importance, and yet nothing was done to precisely ensure this safety. i stand by my first tweet: why not just pretend to give in to mendoza’s demands, bring that document from the ombudsman reinstating him, never mind about due process and the law, just make him happy and get the hostages released FIRST, and THEN saka siya banatan, arrest him for hostage-taking atbp., i mean, you know? why ever not? what’s a white lie if it saves lives?
instead we had a president whose strategy was to “wait him out,” hoping the guy would just release all the hostages out of the goodness of his heart, how freakin smart was that. no wonder the world’s thoroughly disgusted with us.