MUCH, too much, has been written and talked about that hostage-taking incident at the Luneta in Manila last August 23. A crazed, dismissed police captain held captive a bus-load of tourists from Hong Kong in a bid to get reinstated and, thereby (he must have hoped) restore his image as a multi-awarded member of the Philippine National Police, having been cited as one of the Ten Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines (TOPP) by Jaycees International.
We don’t know what he had done to deserve that honor. What we do know is that his singular act of holding hostage those Chinese nationals, eight of whom he shot dead in cold blood with an M-16 rifle, negated whatever honors he had reaped as a member of Manila’s Finest. He had turned into a criminal himself. A terrorist, no less. One of Manila’s Worst.
The current Congressional investigation into this disgusting—nay, painful—episode in our country’s relations with an Asian neighbor, has yet to arrive at a conclusion as to who, aside from the hostage-taker, are to blame for the fiasco at the Luneta, and what lessons shall have been learned that will prevent a repetition of the incident. As it is, who knows but that the botched rescue attempt exposed a chink in the country’s security armor that will embolden future hostage-takers to do their thing?
Never mind manic Manila. Our own Davao City has become a popular tourist and investment destination as well as retirement haven for OFWs and expatriates. Are our authorities prepared to ensure the security of foreign and home-grown visitors against dangerous capers like that which happened at the Luneta? This question is addressed to City Hall, the City Council, the Region 11 Police Office, the Davao City Police Office and, last but not the least, Task Force Davao.
We believe that is a valid question in these uncertain times.
