After the bloody hostage taking last August 2010 which resulted in the deaths of 8 HK nationals and the hostage-taker, what has been made to our law enforcement response so this doesn’t happen again?
8 Hong Kong nationals and the hostage-taker, a dismissed Manila policeman, died on the fateful day of August 23, 2010 with the entire drama shown on national television. The TV coverage clearly showed that the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Manila Police District (MPD) lacked training in handling situations like this. It showed them cowering behind the bus and clearly, had no idea on what they were supposed to do. It doesn’t take an expert to see this incompetence. The nation realized that something has to be done.
Other than finger-pointing among political figures and the supposedly re-training of the police force, nothing concrete has been made by the government. What I mean of a “concrete action” is something that drastically changes something. For example, they could have increased the budget for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to setup a SWAT school where elite members of the police can go to be educated and trained in various tactical scenarios instead of short-term seminars with little or no practical application. You get the picture.
Now that PNoy has signed the 2011 budget, I just wonder how the PNP leadership plans to spend it to make it at par with police organizations from other countries. It also underscores the need for more intelligent people to join the police force to institute change and improve the perception of people about our men in uniform.
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