MANILA, Philippines —Roughly a year after the bungled rescue of Hong Kong tourists at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, the Philippine National Police vowed never to allow a repeat of the incident that left nine people dead and soured diplomatic relations between Manila and Hong Kong.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. on Friday said several measures have been put in place, like the formation of the Crisis Action Force, an elite unit composed of personnel from the Special Action Force, Maritime Group, and Aviation Security Group trained to handle crisis situations like hostage taking.
The elite team, which will serve as “the primary responders in highly sensitive crisis situations”, underwent specialized inter-operability training from February 3 to March 16 at Fort Sto. Domingo in Silang, Cavite, Cruz told reporters at Camp Crame.
The specialized action force, activated on June 19, would be “on standby for crisis situations,” he said.
The SAF will handle land operations, the MG for crisis situations at sea, while the AVSEG will lead in air transport crisis situations, Cruz said.
“We have learned our lessons well,” said Cruz.
The CAF has a budget allocation of P166.9 million under the PNP Capability Enhancement Program, he said.
At the same time, 246 members of the Special Weapons and Tactics participated in a six-month refresher trainings, Cruz said.
Police officials also underwent a three-day media relations workshop to improve their capabilities in handling journalists during crisis situations, said Cruz. He said the PNP also sought the help of the Kapisanan ng mga Broadkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP) in formulating media protocols when covering crisis situations.
The PNP also identified trained officers who will act as negotiators during hostage crisis, Cruz said, adding they took up international and local trainings on hostage negotiation and crisis management.
Other issues like “after-incident investigation” and “command and control” in the PNP were also addressed by creating a field manual on investigation of crimes of violence and publishing three handbooks on hostage negotiations and on managing crisis incidents, Cruz said.
Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla led his men Friday in inspecting several tourist destinations in the Philippine capital, including the Quirino Grandstand where the 11-hour hostage crisis occurred on August 23, 2010.
As the drama unfolded live on television, police officers stormed the bus and shot dead lone gunman Rolando Mendoza, a former policeman who had taken a tourist bus hostage in a desperate bid to be reinstated after losing his job over corruption allegations.
But eight tourists died in the rescue, prompting outrage in Hong Kong, which issued a travel alert for the Philippines, advising citizens at the time not to visit the popular travel destination.
The slain victims’ relatives said they would travel to Manila on August 23 in a bid to talk with officials about compensation and stiffer penalties for those involved in the rescue effort. With The Associated Press