MANILA, Philippines?President Benigno Aquino III Thursday said that in the wake of the hostage fiasco last month, he was forming a security force similar to Britain?s Special Air Service, or SAS, to respond to crisis situations in the country.

In a nationally televised news conference with major network anchors called to deflect criticisms of ineptitude, Mr. Aquino said he would integrate some 200 to 400 police and military troops that would be fielded to combat ?any threat, be it air, sea or land.?

The President said that the force from the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines would be similar to the SAS, a special regiment of the British Army that gained fame for its exploits during World War II. It is regarded as more efficient than the US Navy SEALs.

?We will copy to a degree the formation of that national unit,? he said.

Mr. Aquino spent an hour and a half attempting to explain what he did during the 11-hour standoff that ended in the massacre of eight Hong Kong tourists inside a commandeered bus at Rizal Park on Aug. 23.

The hostage-taker, Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza, also was killed in the police assault mounted after his demand for reinstatement was rejected. He was sacked two years ago for extortion and robbery.

Criticism of the President centered on the fact that he was not seen or heard during the entire episode and only appeared four hours after the crisis ended in a televised news conference after midnight, looking relaxed and fresh before bleary-eyed reporters waiting all night for a statement from him.

Mr. Aquino was also nowhere to be found by Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who was frantically calling him by phone.

Visibility during crisis

In contrast, one political commentator pointed out that following the train bombings in London in 2005, then Prime Minister Tony Blair was on TV immediately to assure Britain that his government was in command and was doing everything to restore order.

Mr. Aquino repeated his previous explanations that sought to answer questions which his spokespersons said focused on why he wasn?t at the scene, rather than his lack of visibility to the nation.

In hindsight, the President said he could have taken a ?more active role? at the height of the crisis in front of Quirino Grandstand, something that was overruled by his aides for very obvious reasons.

He said he had left it to ground commander and ?point man,? former Manila Police District Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, and the crisis management committee headed by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to oversee the operations in order not to complicate things. He said he did not want to ?micromanage? the affair.

Emerald Restaurant

The President said he did go to Emerald Restaurant to confer with his commanders and was monitoring the event throughout.

He said he got piqued when he found out that the Special Action Force (SAF) was not deployed at the hostage site, despite assurances earlier given to him.

He said he discovered that the SAF was ?on call? at Bicutan camp and ordered the force to be sent to Quirino Grandstand.

Mr. Aquino said he got even more annoyed when it was not the SAF that mounted the assault on the bus when the shooting started.

The assault should have taken ?seconds,? he said, pointing to what he said was his experience when he served informally as the chief security officer of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, who faced repeated coup attempts.

?They were breaking the side windows, the front windows and back windows as opposed to focusing on the ingress/egress positions,? Mr. Aquino said of the assault last month.

?They seemed to be doing their own thing,? he recalled. ?It?s as if they were saying, let?s test this and that.?

?My patience ran out?

It was this bungling that he saw on television which he said prompted him to go to Emerald Garden restaurant in Manila and confront the officers.

?My patience ran out,? he said. ?I wanted them to answer my questions on what had happened which was different from what they promised me all day.?

Mr. Aquino said so far no one had been sacked, explaining that he was waiting for the report of the fact-finding committee he had tasked to investigate the fiasco that had triggered anger in Hong Kong and China.

Assaulting the bus was the ?last option,? he said, noting that there was no guarantee that it would be successful.

?An assault will be done only if there is immediate threat or actual harm to the hostages,? he said.

Mr. Aquino said that throughout the day, he believed that the crisis would be resolved peacefully because the hostage-taker was releasing hostages ?without substantial? damage.

Alarming developments

But Mr. Aquino said a series of developments ?alarmed? him and that this eventually led to Mendoza?s murderous rampage. This was when the letter from the Ombudsman was given to Mendoza promising to review his case. He said the face of the primary negotiator, Supt. Orlando Yebra, changed after that.

The President also became concerned when police arrested Mendoza?s brother, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza.

?I thought who ordered this arrest and why was there a need to show the arrest (on TV) when this was a risky situation. What could be the effect of this development,? Mr. Aquino said.

?Let me just say this incident will not define this administration,? he said, reading a prepared statement.

?In the end my administration will be judged on what we have accomplished and what we will accomplish in the coming years?a reduction in poverty and the restoration of a government that is honest in its efforts to build a better nation.? With a report from Norman Bordadora