MANILA, Philippines?The recipient of a Gold Cross and two bronze Medals of Valor for battling rebel soldiers and kidnappers squirmed as he watched the hostage drama unfold near Quirino Grandstand two weeks ago.

That the members of the Manila Police District Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) were ill-equipped was a given, Senior Supt. Rafael Santiago conceded.

?I feel for the SWAT team, because they were ordered to engage despite an obvious lack of equipment and planning,? he said.

Santiago, police provincial commander of Zambales, once joined the team of police commandos that rescued US businessman Michael Barnes from a Las Piñas safehouse in 1992 armed only with basic tools like rope, flashlight, tear gas, vets, gloves, a firearm and ammunition.

Reports said one of Barnes? captors took a clean shot in the neck from responding cops.

This as the suspect pointed a gun at the American?s head while he was chained to a bed.

?Training is the key,? Santiago said.

In his current Zambales stint, Santiago has assembled a 10-man police team with four SAF-trained members to respond to emergency situations, including natural disasters.

?The crisis team is composed of 10 members who are undergoing SAF-like training. Just like the regular SAF, the crisis team members should have more than normal shooting skills,? he said.

Santiago believes the SWAT team in Manila could have done better had its members considered alternative sources given the government?s budgetary constraints.

Santiago?s team, for example, makes do with cheap hand-held radios and earpieces bought from Raon Street in Quiapo, Manila.

Santiago was a first lieutenant and a fresh graduate of Class ?86 of the Philippine Military Academy when he joined the Special Action Force (SAF).

Santiago received training from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation hostage rescue team, the Critical Incident Response Group, and the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU).

His skills include special military airborne combat training; urban warfare and internal security and intelligence gathering and counterintelligence.

Santiago received a Gold Cross for defending Camelot Hotel in 1987 from rebel soldiers.

Later that year, Santiago received a bronze medal for the capture of a team of communist New People?s Army rebels.