Customs exec on US Homeland Security radar

What would the President or the Philippines have lost if he apologized to the families of the victims of the bungled hostage rescue at the Luneta a year ago?

It wouldn’t have made him less of a man if he issued a formal apology.

It wouldn’t have lessened the government’s dignity if it apologized.

On the contrary, the President—as well as the country—would have stood seven feet tall in the eyes of the world if he apologized to the Hong Kong people, in general, and to the victims’ families, in particular.

Apologizing for one’s mistake is a sign of humility.

Humility is a virtue of great men, which the President apparently is not.

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Clearly, the country owed Hong Kong an apology for the deaths of its eight residents who were visiting the country as tourists.

It’s the duty of a host country to safeguard the lives and property of its visitors, both tourists and expatriates.

In fact, more care should be given to visitors than to the locals because it’s good manners and a good business practice to pamper visitors.

The government was remiss in its duty in protecting the Hong Kong residents from dismissed police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza.

Instead of blaming the “deranged gunman,” as P-Noy described Mendoza, our President would have earned praises if he took full responsibility for the botched hostage rescue.

Apparently, President Noy hasn’t come across former US President Harry Truman’s words: “The buck stops here (White House).”

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Airport customs collector Ding So is reportedly being watched by the US Department of Homeland Security for allegedly sleeping on the job: Monitoring illegal drugs that pass through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) en route to the US and other countries.

My sources at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) say the illegal drugs come mostly from China and countries in the Golden Triangle.

The NAIA has become a transshipment point for illegal drugs, according to my PDEA sources.

A Malacañang official confirmed the report that collector So is under surveillance by US officials.

“Yup” was the Palace official’s brief reply when I verified the information from him.

Homeland Security groups the US Customs and Immigration Service and the US Coast Guard, among other agencies.