But it’s a puzzlement that while he is now claiming that as many as “five officials of the Aquino administration are receiving million peso pay-offs from jueteng lords in four region,” he refuses to name names.

The good man of the cloth asserts simply that “I have witnesses in the provincial jueteng operations now controlled by the governors themselves and people in Malacanang who know about the jueteng bribes.”

Yes, Archbishop Cruz.

But up and until your expose is fleshed out with the supposed bribe takers’ names and warm body witness execute sworn affidavits (and are given adequate protection), all that’s making news head are innuendos and more innuendos.

http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=12875

More dangerously you have now endangered the lives of your witnesses who are personally known by the criminals they are tagging, assuming these faceless whistleblowers are the real deal.

We remember only too well the fate that befell Wilfredo ‘Boy’ Mayor who was also your witness.

Did the good retired Archbishop ever bother to help find out who killed Mayor?
Or has the CBCP simply forgotten him?

http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/12386

So please to take your anti-jueteng campaign to the hilt, Arbishop Cruz.

Spill the names and stand as direct witness against them.

Endless innuendos serve no real purpose.

Do it.

The poor folk have repeatedly been the target of demolition operations in the area whose ownership is claimed by rich, influential entities. This is their story.)

On August 11 a horrible specter of merciless destruction began anew against more than l80 helpless families – mostly women and children, living in humble shanties between sixth and seventh street in Broadway, Quezon City.  The demolition teams were led by sheriffs, scores of armed police officers and men, and private gangs bearing hammers and steel bar, and security guards carrying shotguns, armalites and sidearms.
The affected families pleaded – because the weather was bad, and the law mandates that demolitions should only proceed in clear weather. Furthermore, the order of demolition was expressly directed only against six named individuals and persons claiming rights under them – not against other persons with separate homes living there.

They intended to raise this vital issue, among others, in a hearing already scheduled for Friday, only two days hence.
But the sheriffs who led the demolition were adamant. The rains then were intermittent. They would come and go, and when a lull came during noon – they ordered the destruction to proceed. The settlers stood their ground but were no match for the rush of armed forces seeking to destroy. Lourdes Pantanosas strove to shield her family but was pistol-whipped on the head. More than a dozen others who tended to preserve simple belongings were mangled or trampled upon. They used Improvised explosive devices or Pillbox bombs, shotguns and armalites to cow the helpless victims further.

By nightfall, in the wake of ruins, many of the settlers were driven to the streets, stripped of roofs over their heads, shorn of tattered belongings left in the rubble – and then the evening rains came to drench their sufferings even more. Yet no matter how strong the rains and the roar of thunder, they could not stifle the wail of children crying in the night…nor the painful sobs of impoverished mothers weeping and praying in the dark.

The ugly demolition kept on for several days until all l80 families were driven to the streets. But the armed police and private security forces kept on and maintained vigil. Towards the second weekend. In the early morning of Friday August 27, a security guard using an armalite brazenly aimed and shot Dorina Dagohoy Bahin, who fell bleeding. Her friends and relatives quickly came to the rescue, rushing her to the St. Lukes Hospital. The security guard, Reymarc Arsenal from Antipolo was taken by the police under custody to Baras Police Station, for the power to demolish a home does not include authority to shoot or kill.

This tragedy did not begin on August 11 20l0 but way back in l950 almost 60 years ago. The property, comprising 3, l43 square meters, covered by TCT No 9460, was originally owned by a Japanese national, Arata Tsuitsui. Thru the intercession of then Mayor Manuel de la Fuente of Manila, with the consent of the Alien Property Authority which had jurisdiction over Alien Custodies, the Mayor of Quezon City then Mayor Ignacio Santos Diaz, relocated the parents and elders of the present defendants, headed by Pablo L. Mirando to the site in question.

The agreement was for them to purchase the property from the Board of Liquidators, and initial payments were made, followed by monthly rentals to be considered as part payments of the sale, evidenced by receipts of said payments. Therefore the present defendants who succeeded their parents and elders are not squatters but settlers: designated by government to stay in the site, to possess the premises in good faith, to eventually own the property upon full payment.

As a matter of fact, before construction of their homes the settlers secured building permits signed by then City Engineer Anastacio V. Agan. It seems ironic therefore that in 2008 an order for demolition was issued, not by a Court, but by the City Engineers’ Office to destroy houses which had permits to build, permits  given by the same office valid no mater how long ago.

From the early fifties to the present, a time span covering two generations, the original settlers and their successors endured varied challenges. They coped with the rigors of poverty. Jesse Seranilla as a young boy struggled as a pupil in nearby schools, studied assiduously and later got gainfully employment in a global firm, Philippine Airlines. Others like Jesse also spent their young years there and rose to manhood to reap success. Feliciano Angue was such a man, today he gallantly serves the nation as a Rear Admiral in the Navy. So did Alex Espinosa, now a Lt. Col in the nation’s AirForce. And Henry Espinosa, a Captain in the Philippine Marines.

But back to the property from whence they grew. In the early fifties, Carmen Planas owned the adjoining property comprising 4,304 square meters. She had other lands in the provinces and in 1953 she entered into a swap arrangement with the Board of Liquidators for ownership of the land occupied by the settlers. But she agreed to sell the adjoining property to the settlers, recognizing their rights of possession and eventual ownership of the area.

After the passing of Carmen Planas, the special administrator, Ilumindo B. Planas, sold the property to Wellington Ty Bros in November l964. Subsequently the Ty Bros. filed cases in court to eject the settlers but the son of Carmen Planas, intervened. Maximo I. Planas representing the other heirs, sided with the settlers, and asserted their right to stay in the land as eventual owners of the same. From then on court battles continued. Their rights were recognized by the court but the legal battles went on.

In l982, Wellington Ty Bros sold the property to Urban Planters Development Inc. Somehow the property was transferred anew, this time to Manila Banking Corporation, and lastly to China Bank.

Perhaps it is time we all help to resolve the plight of the settlers now. For the challenge they face is not only legal or political – it is also a social problem involving power versus poverty whose challenges similarly replicated across the land –  can virtually affect the strife for social justice in the Philippines.

It took the American negro centuries and countless battles to fight for justice and equality; it was only in the seventies of last year when the last stumbling block against real social integration was finally swept away – when the distorted banner of “Equal but Separate facilities for Black and White” in schools, in restuarants, in buses, in all public places was ultimately discarded. Today the United States has a black President.

Here in our own country, we have good laws and a workable constitution – but the wielders of power are often blinded to go against the poor, not because they are per se against the poor but because they perceive them as barriers to their desired goals. A man in high power who files mining claims is disturbed when he is confronted by tillers in the land inside his claims; he is disturbed when met by labor leaders making demands in his firm; he is disturbed when the acquatic rights to his fishing company are disputed by ordinary fishermen. Disturbance distorts his vision. Who are they to dare defy me! He begins to wield power – to win at any price, regardless of any cost.

The nation’s real need however is change, wholesome and meaningful change. For history tells us that power abused can crumble into dust. Power to build, yes. Not power to destroy.

Power to respect, not power to distort the laws and policies of the land. Otherwise we may no longer hear the cry of babies in the night nor the sobs of mothers weeping and praying in the dark…but we must listen to them because the majority of our brothers and sisters are poor – and we must help them to truly build the nation.

By: Tito Guingona

I was in  charge, I am in charge. Moving forward, we’ll do better next time a crisis like August 23 occurs. Having said that, we remain focused on our vowed goal of stamping out corruption and ushering in a new dawn for the Philippines.

It took all of two hours before a national, even global, television audience for Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III to deliver this covenant in so many words.

Alternately using direct and subtle language, the President told off those who gave his fledging administration an ‘F’ grade in its first text of leadership

He then served notice to his lieutenants that he will no longer brook infighting, incompetence and non performance.

Looping off, the President also delivered a signal by deciding to face a panel of news anchors only from the anchors of private broadcasting networks ABS-CBN, GMA TV, and ABC 5.

PNoy told Filipinos, by the exclusion in the “Harapan” of government-owned National Broadcasting Network and long sequestered Radio Philippines Network and Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation, that the mammoth state-controlled media structures must,, sooner rather than later, become credible carriers of the government’s message as being legitimate news and not political propaganda of the kind dished out by previous administrations.

Beyond their perceived turf ‘dynamics’, steep learning curve, and miscues, this is the urgent mission of the Presidential Communications Group in cooperation, as necessary, with the 15th Congress.

It surely will be in the paramount public interest for NBN to be transformed into AN INDEPENDENT PUBLIC CORPORATION along the lines of the British Broadcasting Corporation and Japan’s Nippon Hoso Kyokai, and for the Broadcast City facilities being handed back to the private sector.

Nuff said.

The truth liberates.

But before that sense of liberation comes, sick individuals (and in the case of societies like ours) institutions need to go through self flagellation and public ridicule for long ignored processes are put in place and capabilities are overhauled.

So it is that two weeks after a busload of foreign tourists were mowed down by an unjustly dismissed police officer, Filipinos are angrily realizing that the seemingly mindless way SWAT team assaulted the Hong Thai bus at the Quirino Grandstand actually reflected the uncoordinated and almost cavalier way the Manila crisis management team went about its work.

It has also come to light that for all the billions spent on making the police better equipped and better trained, the unreformed agency does not even have an official rulebook on hostage-taking negotiation nor a formal hostage-taking negotiations unit!

Another revelation: the dismissal of the killer, Rolando Mendoza, may have been prematurely implemented given exiting jurisprudence forbidding such action for punitive actions exceeding one month for erring lawmen.

Without getting ahead of the inquiry findings, the Office of the Ombudsman itself may find itself on the carpet for its handling of Mendoza’s case.

The hysterical traffic cop, Gregorio Mendoza, has admitted he feared being killed while being removed from the scene for interfering with the negotiations.

But methinks we are on our way to getting out of the rut.

Days before his early retirement, the national police chief has belatedly acknowledged his command responsibility while it’s been revealed that the interior and local government secretary, who’s been perceived as trying to escape blame, is only serving in an acting capacity.

The DILG undersecretary, a practical shooting buddy of the President, is now also saying that he’s ready to take the fall if the ongoing probe into the fiasco finds him wanting.

President Nonoy Aquino has publicly declared that “heads will roll.”

Everyone is looking forward to that, including the people of Hong Kong who have been treated to the transparent way our lady secretary of justice has been leading the inquiry.

The inquiry itself is part of the cathartic process taking place, with Hong Kong people once again warming up to Filipino migrant workers in the former British colony and a Philippine police investigation team being welcomed to interview the survivors in the Manila incident.

My top photo montage is of Hong Kong youths who visited Filipino migrants (some 150,000 in HK) at a downtown park the other to convey their friendship.

Perhaps emblematic of the warmed mood of Hong Kong people for Filipino migrants is this from Cyd Ho, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council:

Domestic helpers who left their home and children and came all the way over to Hong Kong to help us with our domestic work are also victims of a corrupted and incapable government. So, most people in Hong Kong would not be hostile towards the Philippine friends in Hong Kong,

The healing is finally beginning. IT MUST

The culprit in the horrific August 23 Manila hostage crisis has been pinpointed: PROTOCOL.

The way the investigation into the bloodbath is unfolding it was PROTOCOL that put supposed ‘knowledgeable and responsible ‘officials in a straight jacket, helped along by robotic analysis that conspired with the thought box labeled ‘this is just local’.

It was this mental handcuff worn by authorities that empowered a disgraced Manila police office to believe that he could get his job back by hijacking a busload of foreign tourist.

This was the monumental error – the insistence that the August 23 event was  “only a local incident not meriting its elevated classification as a terrorist case with national, even international, implication.

President Aquino is assuming the blame for the fiasco while the national police began a hostility organized public relations ‘assault’ showcasing their ‘skill’ at suppressing hostage taking incidents.

ABS-CBN NEWS is quoting the President as saying that  when he offered the DILG portfolio to former Naga City mayor Jesse Robredo, Robredo was asked to focus on such concerns as coming up with a comprehensive plan on delivering social services like relocating informal settlers in coordination with the local governments.

When I got him, I did tell him, that at this point in time, we’re trying to consolidate especially with our security forces, I will retain direct supervision on the PNP, until such time that he has addressed other concerns, specifically our promises to the informal sectors of our country.

Commenting on my Facebook page, Oliver Teves of the Associated Press saId the President dubbed the incident “the debacle at the grandstand.”

Scandalously, officials of the interior and local governments department and the PNP are insisting they did not err in calling in better trained and better equipped police squads even as it became obvious Rolando Mendoza was off his rocker.

The DILG undersecretary for police operations Rico Puno, a former shooting club range manager and reported practical shooting buddy and campaign aide of the President, has been exposed as a round square peg in a round hole.

PNP chief Jesus Versoza, who flew off to Cagayan De Oro at the height of the crisis, has completely washed his hands of accountability by opting for early retirement — what better to benefit from the automatic one rank promotion upon retirement.

So thanks to PROTOCOL, these two gentlemen will have their cakes and eat the, too.

DAMN!!!

Postscript

The PNP is putting on a show of its supposed readiness to resolve hostage taking incidents just as Versoza announced his early retirement.

Note that while the assault team members are armed to the teeth this time they still don’t have gas masks at the ready:

With power comes responsibility intertwined with inescapable accountability.

I have no doubt that Mr. Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III fully knows and accepts this.

He vowed as much when he took his oath as President some 100 days ago and no event underlines this burden more than that August 23 bloodbath at Quirino Grandstand where a disgruntled cop protesting his dismissal turned a tour bus into the death chamber of 8 Chinese and three Canadians of Chinese descent.

This is the horror the victims went through:

The First-Person Account Of A Manila Hostage Survivor
(Ming Pao via InMediaHK)  Lee Ying Chuen: Give justice to the victims, Not direct anger at the weak.  August 29, 2010.
[in translation]
On Wednesday evening, the government charter airplane landed at the Hong Kong International Airport.  My mother who had been so terrified went in the company of family members to wait in the vehicle arranged by the government.  I stood along with other family members of deceased victims to quietly attend the farewell ceremony.  The bagpipe played .  It was very solemn, and also very sad.  I read the names of the fellow travelers written on the white cloth on the coffins.  Tears came touring out of my eyes.  Who could have imagined before that this tour group would return to Hong Kong in this fashion?
I watched Mrs. Fu and her two children bid farewell to her husband.  Her 4-year-old daughter affectedly asked her mother: “Mom, why is dad going back to Hong Kong but not coming home?  Mom, why do I see Dad when I shut my eyes?”  These innocent childish remarks broke the hearts of listeners.  But the admirable Mrs. Fu was quite strong.  She addressed her daughter in her normal parental tone and said that Dad has gone to heaven.  She asked her daughter to bid farewell to Dad.  After a while, she began to cry.  There was also the dull look in little sister Wong’s eyes, looking as if all her feelings have been drained.  After getting off the plane, I approached the mother of our tour guide Masa.  I held her hands, but I did not know what I should say.  I was only able to say that I wanted to thank Masa because he took care of us right until the very last moment.
On the way home, I looked at the moon through the car window.  It was so round that it was heart-breaking.  I don’t know if this is July 15 or 16 in the Lunar Calendar.  The moon was so bright, yet so cold.

I have reviewed the incident in my mind many times over the past several days.  I am extreme angry and sad.  I also have an indescribable regret.  I kept thinking, Why didn’t we take action to save ourselves?  Why did hand our fates over to an incompetent government during the long waiting process and quietly wait for the help that never came?
Some of us actually did think about taking action to subdue the gunman.  So why did we waver?  Because we were afraid, because we thought that the gunman did not really want to kill anyone, because we thought that the matter would be peacefully resolved and, of course, our biggest mistake was to over-estimate the capabilities of the local police.
The gunman got on the bus around 10am.  We were about to leave the ancient fortress that commemorates the founding father of the Philippines.  He got on the bus and said a long string of words in local dialect.  He also used some simple English.  Through the interpretation of our local guide, we learned that he was a policeman who had been dismissed unfairly.

He was originally scheduled to retire in January next year.  He wanted the government to re-open his case, give him his job back and restore his 1 million peso pension payment.
The gunman apologized to us many times.  He said that he did not really want this to happen to us.  He only needed us to help him force the government to pay attention to his case.  He emphasized repeatedly that he would not harm anyone as long as we cooperate with him.  He then asked the tour guide to confiscate our mobile phones.  But he did not really seriously check whether we did hand over our mobile phones (I was really sorry afterwards that I actually handed over my mobile phone).  He emphasized that he did not want our mobile phones, but he was only temporarily holding them.
He said that he did not want our money.  He let the elderly Mr. Lee get off the bus, because Lee suffered from diabetes.  Everything made us think that he had some minimal humanitarian concern to look after the young, the old and the sick and therefore he was not a vicious thug.  Right before he opened fire, he never even pointed the gun at any of us.  He never threatened us.  When we said “toilet” to him, he would wave his hand to let us go into the small room in the rear of the bus to relieve ourselves using a plastic bag.
During the first few hours, the gunman was calm when he spoke on the phone.  Often times he smiled.  He kept saying, “Ok, ok.”  This reassured us.  Periodically he would emphasize again that he would not hurt us.  He let people from the outside bring food for us twice.  Right before dusk, while we were still worried and afraid, it was still relatively calm in side the bus.  I read my palm several times.  I thought that I have a long lifeline.  Didn’t the palmists tell me that several times before?  I told myself that this was just a farce that would end satisfactorily.
At first, we thought that the demands of the gunman were simple enough to be resolved within an hour or two.  By noon, we were getting impatient.  We whispered to each other about acting together to subdue the gunman.  The gunman was alone.  Although some of us are children, elders and women, we had about ten able men, youngsters and adult women who could act.  The tight space on the bus would make it hard for him to escape from us.  If we act together, we could subdue him.  But we were scattered all over the bus as ordered by the gunman, one person per row on each side of the aisle.  The bus was also long.  If we cannot hold a discussion together, it would be hard to coordinate our actions.  I spoke several times with the team mates in the rear.  But because it was still relatively peaceful, we did not take action because we thought that the matter would be peacefully resolved and, if we took action, it would rile the gunman.
At some time past 1pm, the gunman used simple English to tell us that he would let us go at 3pm.  I thought he said 8pm.  But Mr. Leung who sat on the same row on the other side of the aisle corrected me and said that it was 3pm.  Mr. Leung asked the gunman whether it was 3pm.  The gunman said, Yes.  Mr. Leung replied, Good.  We were relieved.  I don’t carry a watch and my mobile phone had been taken away.  So I kept asking Mr. Leung for the time.  When Mr. Leung told me that it was 230pm, I got worried again: Why did the government seem to be doing nothing?  Why didn’t they meet the gunman’s demands?  I began to think whether we should negotiate with the gunman ourselves? But the gunman seemed to understand only minimal English …
Several times the gunman opened the front door of the bus and stood on the steps.  I really wanted to race up behind him and kick him out.  I rehearsed the move many times in my mind.  But I was afraid that I could not communicate with the driver and I was worried that he would not be alert enough to close the door and drive away immediately, leaving the time for the gunman to counter-attack … I thought about many possibilities.  In the end, I took no action.  This may just be an excuse for my fear and cowardice.
Time dragged on without any sign of resolution.  The team mates at the rear of the bus discussed several times about subduing the gunman.  We noticed that he always carried his weapons on him.  We determined the best spot to attack him.  We looked for objects around us to use as weapons.  I said that although I am short and weak, if the guys can hold him down, I can grab his gun and hold his hand down so that the people in front of the bus can escape.  Mr. Leung also instructed his children to assist during our assault.  But in the end, we wavered and did not do anything, all because the gunman kept moving the stated deadline back and back while waiting for a government response.
We felt that he really did not want to kill anyone until the moment when he actually opened fire on the team mates in the front rows.  By the time Mr. Leung rushed over to save his family, it was too late.  Afterwards I spoke to Mrs. Leung and she said that she was ready to join us in our attack on the gunman.  She planned to use some strings in her handbag to tie around the gunman’s neck.  If we had all been braver, if we had gotten our act together earlier and if we took decisive action instead of waiting for the police rescue, the outcome might have been different.  Unfortunately, history does not have any “maybe’s”.
I hid underneath my seat and avoided the volley.  At that instance, I could hardly believe that this scene from some movie was really happening to me.  I saw that my mother hid herself under her seat in another row and was also alive.  I felt better.  After the first volley, it became quiet inside the bus.  There was the sounds of thunderclaps outside.  Then the rain fell down hard on the bus top which made the inside of the bus even more eerily quiet.  It was very dark inside the bus.  When the gunman found someone still alive, he fired more shots with flames coming out the barrel.  I saw that blue fire entered the bodies of the team mates who became immobile and silent.  After a while, there came many more loud gunshots.  The bus was also being struck hard on all sides, reminding the survivors that they could be dead within the next second.
Looking at the immobile bodies in front of me, I automatically began to say the Buddhist chant 「謁諦謁諦，波羅謁諦，波羅僧謁諦，菩提娑婆訶」so that the dead ones can reach the opposite shore quickly.  This was my long-time custom whenever someone passes away.  I wondered without reflection, Are they really dead?  Several minutes ago, they were still alive.  Are their souls still wandering around inside the bus?  I kept repeating the Heart Prayer slowly, one word at a time … I thought about all the things that I still cannot bear to leave behind.  I thought about all the things that I still wanted to do.  I thought about my beloved family and friends.  Of course, it would be better not to die.  But I was no longer as scared as I was initially.  I was most concerned about my mother who was coughing from the two tear gas assaults and might be detected by the gunman.
The gun battle went on for a very long time, as if it would never end.  I felt that my hair and body were covered in blood, all coming from others.  But the next second it could be my blood.  For several days afterwards, I could still feel the smell of blood.
Inside the ambulance, we asked the emergency workers to stop the bleeding on Mr. Chan’s hands.  The emergency workers said that they had no equipment.  My mother was still suffering from the effects of the tear gas and wanted some water to drink.  The emergency workers said that they had no water.  I looked in the cabinet inside the ambulance.  There was nothing inside.  I had to smile bitterly.
We arrived at the government hospital, where the facilities were also sparing.  We were then moved to a better hospital.  Various government officials, emergency department people and consulate representatives kept asking us why the gunman suddenly went crazy and opened fire.  I got mad and I cursed them out, Did they really want to rescue us?  How could it take so long to rescue people?  Why didn’t the police seize the opportunity to attack the gunman when he showed himself in public?  Why didn’t they meet the gunman’s demands and free the hostages first? …  Mr. Chan kept trying to find information about his girlfriend Ms. Yee.  But there was no way because it was chaos at the hospital.  Mrs. Leung tried to find her children.  It was heart-breaking to see her tear-covered eyes.  She looked ready to collapse any moment.  I took care of my crying, terrified mother on one side while holding Mrs. Leung’s hand in my other hand.  She and I repeatedly asked the government officials present to take her to see her children.  But these incompetent government said that they had no idea which hospital her children were at …
I was at the hospital.  I let my mother settle down.  It was almost 5am in the morning.  I took off my blood-soaked clothes.  My hair was rigid after the blood had curdled.  I washed myself for a long time.  The thick smell of the blood made me want to vomit.  I came back out and sat on the sofa.  I watched the steady rhythm of the breathing of my mother sleeping in her bed.  I was afraid that she might become motionless suddenly.  I watched for I don’t know how long.  Then I became certain.  Yes, we are safe, we are alive.  I took a deep breath.  I became calm inside slowly.  I watched the dawn come, as if I just emerged into a new life.  I closed my eyes.  But the sound of gun shots rang out — “pow, pow” — my calm was disrupted.  Hereafter, every time I closed my eyes, I heard gunshots and saw the bodies of my team mates writhing.  I didn’t know if they are on the way to Heaven.  I could not close my eyes.
The world saw how ridiculously and incompetently the Philippines government and police handled the matter. There is no need for me to say more.  While at the hospital, I watched the local news.  I learned what their President did and said.  I heard that the police excused their own incompetence by blaming the media.  They said that there should be news blackout during emergencies.  I had to curse out aloud in the room.  During my two days in the hospital, I was visited by many Philippines government officials and other persons.  The younger sister of the President visited me on behalf of her brother.  I stated my anger directly.  I demanded a thorough investigation, accountability and an explanation to the families of the victims.  The medical workers at the hospital did their best to take care of us.  I am very grateful to them.  I realize that they are trying to make good for the mistakes of their nation.
Before returning to Hong Kong, I went to see Mrs. Leung.  I wanted to tell her that we were returning to Hong Kong before her.  I also wanted to give her some support.  Mrs. Leung was awesome.  She was very calm, and she comforted me.  She believed that God has given her a lot of spiritual support.  But when we spoke about the final moments inside the bus that day, both of us began crying.  Dear God, although I am not a believer in you, please take care of her heaven-bound loved ones as well as give your infinite love and blessing for her son who is still struggling between life and death.
I kept thinking about what turned a former excellent policeman into a cold-blooded killer?  Didn’t he have any reservations?  Didn’t he worry about his own family?  What drove him to such desperate straits?  Why did he have to choose to take hostages in order to force the government to review his case?  Is there no way of making an appeal in that country?
I realized finally that even though I had some colleagues from the Philippines, I and most Hong Kong people know almost nothing about that country.  There are more than one hundred thousand Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong and they live with our families.  But we have never cared about this country and its people who provide us with a large number of cheap laborers.  We know that the Philippines is poor and that is why they export domestic workers all over the world.  But how poor?  I checked and I found out that one-third of its people live below the poverty line.  Killings and kidnapping occur on a daily basis.  Under such circumstances, why kind of life do the people have? I remembered that two days before the hijacking, our schedule included a visit to a flower car factory.  There we smelled a foul odor.  The tour guide pointed to the outside of the factory wall.  There was a mountain of garbage out there.  Many young children were picking through the garbage to make their living.  This made us sad and speechless.
After returning to Hong Kong, I learned that there had been quite a bit of anti-Philippines talk in Hong Kong over the past several days.  On the Internet, someone proposed revenge by sending all Filipina domestic helpers home so that their country would plunge into economic hardship.  I learned that Filipina domestic helpers were insulted in the streets, with the Philippines being referred to as the “nation of slaves” and the “nation of servants.”  I can understand that the citizens are incredibly angry with the Philippines government and police.  I feel the same way myself.  But what has this got to do with the people of the Philippines?
Have we forgotten what it feels like to be discriminated against?  Hong Kong was a colonized society for a long time, with the Chinese being discriminated against by the so-called “masters” within the system and their daily lives. But now some Hong Kong people turn around to speak like slave-owners that “We hired so many Filipinas so we are their bosses” and “it was an act of benevolence to hire you so how dare you offend your superiors” against the Filipina domestic helpers who had nothing whatsoever to do with the Manila hostage incident itself.  This is just appalling.
The Filipina domestic helpers are the victims of their incompetent government, which was unable to provide a decent living for its people.  That is why so many Filipinas have to leave their families.  They work to take care of other’s children while leaving their own children behind.  So why should the Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong serve as the scapegoats of their incompetent government?  Why are some Hong Kong people angry but also being racist?
Even more incomprehensibly, the Hong Kong government has just announced at this time that the wages of all domestic helpers (including Filipinas) will continue to be frozen.  This means that the foreign domestic helpers cannot share the fruits of the economic recovery.  Is our government exploiting the situation?  Would the government care to tell us about their standards and system for determining wage levels for foreign domestic helpers?  Their actions right now carry the impression that the government wants to punish the foreign domestic helpers.  This is no help towards relieving anti-Philippines sentiments.  A friend quoted the words of Lu Xun: When the brave become angry, they draw their knives at those even stronger; when the meek become angry, they draw their knives at those even weaker.  Do the people of Hong Kong only know to draw their knives against the weak?
Over the past several days, Hong Kong has been both angry and sad over this Manila hostage incident.  Although I have not discussed with other team members, I am sure that we are grateful for the concern and support of the citizens.  But the way to comfort the souls of the dead is not to blame the innocent Filipina domestic helpers and the people of the Philippines.  Our focus should be clearly on the Philippines government and its police.  We want a fair and proper investigation.  We want to an account of the responsibility in the incident.  We want to provide for the future of the injured persons as well as the families of the deceased.  This is how we show our concern for the casualties in this incident.
In the long run, we should support the people of the Philippines to build a more trustworthy government and a more just society.  This is how Hong Kong truly becomes a member of the international community and a cosmopolitan city with humanitarian concerns.
Dear team members, we have finally returned home to Hong Kong.  Dear departed team mates, may your trip be smooth; please pray for your family members still with us.  Those team mates who have suffered mental and physical injuries, please be strong and recover well.  The road ahead is still long.  May we all have a good life.  Please take care of yourselves.
________________________________________
(Ming Pao Weekly)  The Interview with Lee Ying Chuen.  August 29, 2010.
On August 23, the tour leader Masa Tse arranged for the 20 Hong Thai team members to have breakfast the hotel.  Then he took us to the Santiago Fortress.  This was the last stop in our four days-three nights trip.  Afterwards, we were to return home by plane.
After seeing the Santiago Fortress, we got on board the tour bus at around 10am.  There were several dozen other buses around.  I don’t know why the gunman Mendoza picked us out and got on the bus.  He asked the local tour guide to tell us that he was holding us as hostages.
The gunman looked amicable at first.  He explained that he was scheduled to retire in January, but he was dismissed unfairly.  He wanted the government to deal with some problems, including his 1 million peso pension.  The gunman emphasized that he did not want our money and he would not hurt anyone.  He said in English: “No harm!  Cooperate, no harm!”  He said “I am sorry!” many times.  Then he ordered the tour guide to confiscate our mobile phones.  Masa Tse was sitting at the back of the bus and he used the brief period of time to call his company in Hong Kong.  Although the gunman stopped people from calling outside, he let the local tour guide call her family and even the office.
Although we were kidnapped, we were not especially scared.  The gunman carried a rifle as well as a pistol on his right waist.  But he acted friendly and gave the impression of being calm.  After about half an hour, the elder Mrs. Lee had a stomach problem and had to use the toilet.  But the restroom in the bus was stacked with stuff and it would not be easy.  So the gunman let Mrs. Lee leave.  The tour guide Diana told the gunman that she wanted to accompany Mrs. Lee.  The gunman let them both off.  The tour guide told the gunman: “I will be back!”
After Mrs. Lee relieved herself, she was actually ready to go back to the bus.  But the police prevented her. She had to appeal to the Red Cross.  She told them that Mr. Lee has a serious case of diabetes and must take medication.  The police negotiation expert told the gunman about the situation.  The gunman used simple English to ask, “Who has diabetes?  You can leave.”  As Mr. Lee got off the bus, he forgot to take his belongings.  So he used English to tell the gunman that his medication was inside his bag and he needed to fetch it.  The gunman did not stop him.  Mr. Lee said that as he stepped off the bus, the gunman put a hand on his shoulder and he was afraid that the gunman might change his mind!
After the tour guide left the bus, we were basically unable to communicate with the gunman.  We can only understand what he meant through the simple English that he spoke.  I don’t blame Diana.  When a person is threatened, she has the right to protect her own life.  There was nothing wrong with her leaving us.  But after she left, we found it hard to communicate with the gunman.  That is a fact.  But I think anyone of us would have seized the chance to leave.
At around 11am, the gunman was watching the live broadcast on the television set inside the bus.  Then he turned it off for a while, before turning it on again.  He was normal and did not look afraid.  He chatted with the Filipinos on the bus (the driver and the photographers).  They talked and they laughed.  At around 12:30pm, the gunman began to release hostages.  He released Mrs. Fu and her two children.  As Mrs. Fu left, she told the gunman that the other girl named Wong was family as well.  The gunman let her leave as well.  Then the gunman released the two Filipino photographers who helped to move luggage for the group.
The gunman then asked the remaining 15 hostages and the driver to sit separately.  On each row, only one person was allowed on each side of the aisle.  Mrs. Leung who sat with Mr. Leuung was sent to the front.  I was sitting with my mother and I was sent to the third last seat on the right.  My mother was sent to the last row before the rest room.  Mr. Chen said behind me.  In front of was the Leung’s 14-year-old daughter Jessie.  The other Leung daughter Doris sat in front of Jessie.  On the left was the still unconscious Leung brother.  Mr. Leung sat behind his son.  The tour leader Masa Tse sat on the last row on the right in front of the emergency exit.
The time went by second by second.  The atmosphere began to get tense.  But the team mates still sensed that the gunman was friendly.  Team mates peeked occasionally outside the window to seek what the police were up to.  The gunman kept talking on the phone, mostly in Filipino dialect with some occasional English mixed in.  The gunman said to us: “You can all go!”  He also said “Three, go!” many times, meaning that he would let us go at 3pm.  I heard the gunman change the deadline several times during the phone conversation, from 3pm, 4pm to office hour.  I did not have a watch or mobile phone, so I asked Mr. Leung across the aisle from me.  “What time is it?”  “4:30!”  “What is office hour here?  5pm or 6pm?”  We were getting impatient.  The teammates in the rear of the bus whispered: “Why don’t we just subdue him!”  We spoke many times.  But we did not do anything because he gave a deadline to the government and he did not show any sign of wanting to shoot anyone.  He gave us the impression that he was peaceful.  When someone wanted to use the restroom, he would permit it; he never pointed the gun at us to threaten us.  When the government people sent food over, he did not inspect it for weapons.  This showed that he was not very alert.  We regretted afterwards that we did not try to subdue him.
The gunman kept pushing the deadline back.  He continued to speak by telephone, mixing English with Filipino dialect.  I only knew that he kept repeating his demand to the government.  Sometime between 5pm and 6pm, the gunman got the tour leader Masa Tse to move from the last seat to the front.  The gunman handcuffed Tse to the front door in an attempt to scare the government.  He said on the phone: “Five minutes!”  The gunman never asked for our names.  He only counted the number of persons.  Perhaps he needed to cite the number of hostages in his negotiations.  Five minutes passed.  He did not shoot anyone.  He made many more phone calls with the outside.  After more than half an hour, he got more agitated.  I sensed that he was getting angrier.  The television was still on, showing the live coverage of the incident.  After another half hour, he still did not take any action other than speaking on the phone.
By that time, it had gotten dark outside.  The television showed the police arresting his younger brother.  He probably saw that.  But what led him to start shooting was a phone call.  He hung up and immediately took out his gun.  “Bang!”  The first shot killed the tour leader.  Then he walked from the front to the back, shooting at the passengers.  Mr. Leung and some other men rushed forward to stop him.  I heard “Bang!  Bang!  Bang!” The men fell down on the floor.  I and my mother both hid underneath our seats.  When the gunman got near me, I saw that he was holding his long rifle.  There was a pistol on his right waist but he never took it out.  It was dark outside and there was no light inside the bus.  Basically one could not see anything.  So I think the gunman never saw us.
After the gunman fired the first volley and killed the first group of person, it became dead quiet inside the bus.  There was no sound for several minutes.  From underneath my seat, I saw that Jessie Leung was also hiding like me.  Maybe she thought that it was safe.  She saw that her elder brother Jason was motionless after the first volley.  She thought he was dead.  So after a while, she came out to check her brother.  I saw clearly that she got shot as soon as she rose up from her place.  She fell down on the ground, her body still writhing.  The gunman added another shot on her.  She didn’t move anymore …
I hid underneath the seat for a long time.  After a long time, I heard someone cough up front.  The gunman added a few shots.  At the time, I was only thinking … Will he come over?  Will I really die?  I was also worried about my mother.  But I knew that she was underneath the seat behind me and I could see her.
I stayed in the darkness for I don’t know how long.  Then someone threw the first round of tear gas canisters into the bus.  I was really scared.  My mother was coughing.  I was really afraid that the gunman might hear her and come over to shoot her.  When the police tossed the tear gas into the bus, didn’t they think that we would also be affected besides the gunman?  If we come out and the gunman was still alive, he would shoot us!  Then came another round of tear gas canisters.  They really didn’t care about our lives!

After a while, I heard people calling out “Police!  Police!”  Then someone helped me get out of the tour bus.  My mother followed me.  Later on, I read the news reports and learned that it was almost two hours from the first volley to my rescue!

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20100829_1.htm

Is it just me or are the President’s men becoming Pontius Pilates at his expense?
Or is the perceived laid back style of the Bachelor President letting rumored turf wars between his top aides fester dating back to the election campaign fester?
I am, however, wont to just to lay it all on the President.

His designated alter egos must step up to the plate instead of leaving him shaking in the wind.
With the blame game continuing and the political opposition feasting on the miscues, Filipinos ( all armchair strategists and pundits) are wringing their hands over the seeming steep learning curve of the young administration and the need for President Aquino to get a firmer grasp of the bull’s horn.

As the days progress, your NPAs in the Cabinet plus the holdovers in unreformed agencies are wasting your political capital.

You know who they are.

(Emphasis mine.)

The time to act, po.

This is criminal shamelessness – the revelation that MWSS staffers pocketed 33 types of bonuses amounting to a total of P156 million out of the P242 million in the state water agency’s bonuses in 2009.

MWSS officials led by officer in charge Macra Cruz even have the gall to say they are appealing the Commission on Audit’s findings disallowing the bonus “because they can be justified based on a liberal interpretation of guidelines.”

With even drivers allowed to get car loans, the bonus include such emoluments like ‘family week benefit’, ‘privitization bonus’, ‘bigay pala’ bonus, anniversary bonus, mid-year bonus, year-end financial assistance, productivity bonus, Collective Negotiation Agreement incentive, GOCC incentive, performance enhancement bonus, corporate Christmas package, traditional Christmas bonus, calamity assistance, educational assistance, scholarship allowance, and family-week allowance.

The breakdown of their inbred generosity with OUR MONEY:

MWSS OIC received a Christmas bonus in Sept 09 plus a Christmas ‘productivity pay check of P200,000.

The rest:

Collected 13th month pay on Sept 09.

Collected grocery, “Family Week” and scholarship allowances P250,000. 2 weeks after Ondoy, claimed P100,000 in calamity assistance, another P100,000 was for “year-end
financial assistance, on Nov. 6, P130,000 Corporate Christmas Package on top of P100,0000 in Christmas bonuses on Nov. 17.

A day later, P800,000 in car loans and on Nov. 24, P100,000 productivity incentive bonus + P20,000 in PX Mart allowances.

On Dec. 10, P300,000 in financial assistance + another productivity incentive bonus of P94,000.

On Dec. 14, P143,000 in discretionary allowances + another P100,000 as a
collective negotiation agreement bonus and the next, P100,000 in “OGCC/GOCC celebration” funds and from from Dec. 17 to 22, P200,000 more in productivity bonuses.

No need to mince words here.

These self entitled folks at the MWSS,  whose board members were earlier exposed during President Noynoy Aquino‘s SONA as having also raked in gazillions in benefits, are callous to the extreme and devoid of sensitivity to the fact that up to 7 in 10 Filipinos live in abject poverty.

No need for anyone to tell you what to do, Mr. President.

When is crime in progress a local police operation and when does it merit direct involvement of the both the national leadership along with crime/terror suppression units?

This question has been niggling me former days now in the aftermath of what is arguably the worst hostage taking incident we’ve seen, a drama that left us transfixed before our TV sets for 11-plus arduous hours through to the thoroughly amateurish way so-called SWAT policemen ‘assaulted’ the tourist bus using sledge hammers that only managed to punch puny holes through the laminated plastic glass windows.

The Keystone Cops went about their task, totally surrendering what should have been the life-saving element of surprise while killer Rolando Mendoza, once a multi-awarded cop, monitored the police tactics in real time.

It has now come to light that President Noynoy Aquino was himself monitoring the live broadcast drama but, according to his spokesman, did not see it necessary to call in the cavalry, in a manner of speaking, “because he had full confidence in the in the local (City of Manila) crisis management team” led by no other than Mayor Alfredo ‘Dirty Harry’ Lim.

Atty. Edwin Lacierda, interviewed by veteran news anchorperson Tina Monzon-Palma, refused to concede that Malacanang underestimated the situation in front of the historic Quirino Grandstand despite the fact that the ready-to-kill-and-die dismissed cop was armed to the teeth and had 12 foreign tourists on the killing end of his official issue automatic rifle and hand gun/s.

Mr. Lacierda was also hard put to explain satisfactorily why the Palace did not consider it paramount junk diplomatic protocol and direct call Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Chang.

“Besides,” Lacierda insisted,”we were following established protocols that give the local government unit concerned overall control.”

Sorry Mr. Spokesman, not a few Filipinos find hard to accept that the administration is still going through a learning curve while a “local incident” turned into a traumatic international incident.

Must reading, Attorney:

http://raissarobles.com/2010/08/29/south-china-morning-post-hk-reports-what-happened-inside-the-death-bus/

This video is also instructive:

Postscript

DILG Secretary Secretary Jesse Robredo is now complaining that he “was not at all involved in the handling of the crisis while Police Director General Jesus Versoza decided to fly to a scheduled engagement in Cagayan De Oro at 3 p.m. of November 23 “thinking that the efforts to resolve the situation were going well.”

This is a nightmare that we all want to wake up from.But it won’t go away unless and until we are able to fully understand, and then act, on the causes that still bear the seeds of the next blood-soaked hostage-taking incident.

The murderous rage that the dismissed policeman descended is now being analyzed as having been triggered by the impact on gunman Rolando Mendoza of the live broadcast of how his former brothers in arms treated his kin.

Similarly, the people and leadership of Hong Kong felt up close how their compatriots’ lives were mindless sacrificed on the altar of incompetent police operations, with their anger and disappointment compounded by the failure of responsible Philippine officials to be pro active in communicating both our sympathies, apologies, and readiness to make amends.

It can thus be argued that from their naturally adversarial roles in our wide democratic space, government and segments of the broadcast media, through their actions or lack of it, were thrust into the role of unwitting contributors to our present nightmare.

The worst mistake the gatekeepers of these two institutions can make is to wear blinders anchored on such misplaced and mistaken premises as “diplomatic” and official protocols”, agency and rank-specific prerogatives, and the pure and simple ‘I-now-better-and have-it-figured-out’ attitude.

This is the time for close re-examination of the parameters the news media have on reporting crisis situations. Minus huff and puffs, and self serving “we did it right” declarations.

For the Palace, it is humbly submitted that a recalibration of media operations to set aside turf dynamics are called for so that conflicting policy statements that can, at times, run at cross purposes are minimized if not eliminated.

While the buck does stop with the President, Cabinet secretaries must own up to their command responsibilities for each of their portfolios.

Finally, for President Noynoy Aquino , who cannot be his own crisis public relations manager, this Open Letter to him from the Hong Kong Journalists Association merits serious consideration:

Dear President Aquino,

The Hong Kong Journalists Association expresses its deepest condolences to the families of those who died in Manila’s hostage tragedy. We also want to express our appreciation and respect to those who acted bravely and astutely during the long standoff, thus allowing some of the hostages to survive. We are, however, filled with anger and concern over the blame being heaped on the media for allegedly contributing to the tragedy.

The HKJA notes with concern that President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines made the media the scapegoat when he said: “Media coverage of his brother being taken into custody further agitated the hostage-taker…” Using this flimsy excuse, Mr. Aquino said he would consider imposing new restrictions on media coverage should a similar crisis occur.

We have no idea what further restrictions are under consideration but what we are sure of is that President Benigno Aquino’s words were uttered hastily and without careful consideration. Without a thorough investigation such conclusions cannot be taken seriously and the HKJA views the president’s hasty conclusions with grave misgivings.

The role of the media is to tell the world what is happening and what has happened. This is the essence of what the democratic world has come to know and to accept as freedom of the press and freedom of expression. The media’s presence is vital to the preservation of human rights of minorities in any conflict. As in the case of Manila’s killings, nobody can tell if the same tragedy would not have taken place without the presence of the media. What we can be sure of is that without the presence of the media no knowledge of this horrific tragedy would have been known to the outside world.

Moreover, the police force of the Philippines should have known that negotiations were going on between the gunman and his brother, and that this was being telecast. The act of arresting the brother would, clearly, irritate the gunman. Yet the police forcibly wrestled the brother down and handcuffed him, all directly in front of the media.

The police, clearly, had neither strategy nor the necessary know-how to deal with such a situation. With the development of the new media, it is unrealistic to ask the media not to broadcast live in a matter of huge public interest not only to the Filipinos themselves, but also to people in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Proper media arrangements, including a safe area for the media at the scene, in accordance with internationally accepted standards, are of paramount importance. None were forthcoming.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association calls on the Philippines government to refrain from using this incident to introduce harsh measures against the media in order to cover up their incompetence. We will closely monitor the incident and any further deterioration of press freedom in Philippines arising from this tragedy.

With Kind Regards,
Hong Kong Journalists Association
26th August 2010

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/546322

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang has, for his par, spoken in a conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the incident.

Here’s how Hong Kong TV reported on the aftermath of the incident:

The foregoing aside, the national image and honor can begin to be repaired only when the orientation and operational reforms sorely needed by our law enforcement,  criminal justice and anti graft agencies are carried out.

Pres. Aquino held his latest press briefing last Wednesday, the 25th, and responded to questions his the criticisms from the Filipino Chinese community and the condition of Filipinos in Hong Kong:

President Aquino: We understand the outrage they are expressing at the current time. They are relatively a small community. This has obviously had a very big impact on everybody there. We understand that sense of outrage, and the anger that emanates from that sense of outrage. We ask for their understanding. We are correcting the deficiencies that we have noted in the implementation of our operating procedures. None of us wanted this outcome. We’d like to emphasize the fact that the primary consideration was on trying to secure all of the hostages. Hence, the degree of control in not responding arbitrarily by our police forces, amongst other things. That message was reiterated to them by me throughout the course of the day: the idea that a forced assault would be the last option that we would employ, and only if there was harm detected in any of the hostages.
[In terms of the Filipinos in Hong Kong], we did communicate yesterday with the Chief Executive of the Administrative Region, Mr. Donald Tsang. We did explain to him the course and chronology of the events that transpired and we expressed our sorrow and grief on the outcome of it. There were several requests that we have attended to, even prior to the requests being made, and we beg for their understanding in the outcome of the situation.
Q: There are so many hate comments going around, especially on Facebook, with Hong Kong people accusing the government and PNP of incompetence, and with others calling on you to step down; the rest even calling you a dog for having seen you smiling in the press conference and in the crime scene hours after the hostage crisis. What is your reaction?
President Aquino: My smile might have been misunderstood, ‘no? I have several expressions. I smile when I’m happy. I smile when I’m faced with a very absurd situation, when I can’t prevent my own emotions. I have to keep my own emotions checked. If I offended certain people, I apologize to them. Obviously, there was no joy in attending to that situation. More on the absurdity of the matter: Why the absurdity? When my mother was president, the PSG demonstrated the capability of successfully resolving a bus hostage situation… bus hostage rescues are common staple of special operations, capable teams, throughout the world. There was an expectation that the appropriate forces will be utilized for this, which has been trained. Let me emphasize, ‘no? The expectation was there, close to 25 years ago, …when they demonstrated before; that was the very first time I saw it. So, we have had so many similar situations—one individual that was taking hostage of several people—that have been resolved peacefully throughout the history of our country.
It actually transpired when we had that assault team using a sledge hammer, having difficulty breaching the bus in…‘yung parang: I was really touched by the absurdity of the situation, this thing that happened, ‘no? And more on the expression—siguro of exasperation rather than anything—I apologize if I offended certain people who misunderstood my facial expression.
Q: The Philippine government has given the Hong Kong side assurances of cooperation in the investigation. In return, have we asked them for any assurance that Filipino workers and tourists would be safe?
President Aquino: I think it went without saying, when the Chief Executive and I had our conversation. He did mention our 20,000-strong population there, and if I remember correctly, they understood that they will be taken cared of. We have received reports that there is, at least from his end, scaling down of the rhetoric that is being expressed at this current time. On our part, we understand the grief that produces a sense of outrage and the anger that emanates as an expression of the grief that they are experiencing. Of course, we hope we could have done better, but there is a tragic loss of life. We will have to bear accepting this anger, because in the end, bending it out will be healthy to the relations of our country, especially [with] the Administrative Region as well as the People’s Republic.

The full transcript of the press briefing is nere:

http://www.gov.ph/2010/08/25/press-briefing-of-president-aquino-august-25-2010/

In the game of communications as vital component of responsive and responsible governance,

PERCEPTION IS REALITY.

POSTSCRIPT

This piece on the deeper social meaning of Marshal Mcluhan’s postulate “the medium is the message” by Prof. Mark Friedman is seminal:
Friedman says, in part:

… Marshall McLuhan was concerned with the observation that we tend to focus on the obvious. In doing so, we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of time. Whenever we create a new innovation – be it an invention or a new idea – many of its properties are fairly obvious to us. We generally know what it will nominally do, or at least what it is intended to do, and what it might replace. We often know what its advantages and disadvantages might be. But it is also often the case that, after a long period of time and experience with the new innovation, we look backward and realize that there were some effects of which we were entirely unaware at the outset. We sometimes call these effects “unintended consequences,” although “unanticipated consequences” might be a more accurate description.
Many of the unanticipated consequences stem from the fact that there are conditions in our society and culture that we just don’t take into consideration in our planning. These range from cultural or religious issues and historical precedents, through interplay with existing conditions, to the secondary or tertiary effects in a cascade of interactions. All of these dynamic processes that are entirely non-obvious comprise our ground or context. They all work silently to influence the way in which we interact with one another, and with our society at large. In a word (or four), ground comprises everything we don’t notice.
If one thinks about it, there are far more dynamic processes occurring in the ground than comprise the actions of the figures, or things that we do notice. But when something changes, it often becomes noticeable. And noticing change is the key.

The essay in full here:

http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthemessage.htm

1st Update

A full week after the bloodbath, Both Manila and Hong Kong are, quite literally still reeling.

In Hong Kong, citizens of the former British colony estimate at up to 80,0000 took to the streets to seek justice for their 8 compatriots whose holiday trip to Manila claimed their lives.

The People’s Republic of China which loosely oversees Hong Kong affairs as a Special Administrative Region under the concept ‘One Nation, Two Systems’ protested the draping of the Philippine flag over the casket of killer Rolando Mendoza.

The good cop gone wrong’s funeral in his Batangas home town was attended by some 1,000 as the Philippine investigation, which President Aquino  directed completed in no more than three week, began with the National Bureau of Investigation joining in.

This as this news recap of a radio station’s interview with the gunman highlighted questions about what triggered his murderous rage:

As China complained about the flag incident, authorities rejected the bid of HK police to take active part in the probe as “it was a sovereignty issue.”

On the diplomatic front, Hong Kong has put on hold the intended visit of a Philippine government delegation simultaneous with the cancellation of the Manila visit of the Chinese vice premier and the “sudden illness” of two of the three Chinese citizens due to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Sadly, there are these lingering images:

And now comes Social welfare secretary Dinky Soliman admitting today that President Aquino was at Emerald Restaurant (fronting the US Embassy) during the latter hours of the hostage crisis.

Reports quote Soliman as saying the President “was not at the Chinese resto to have dinner but to use it as a the command post”.

(This afternoon, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters Pres. Aquino “witnessed the hostage on live TV like everybody did. At 7 he went to Emerald to look for NCRPO officials, MayorAlfredo Lim and Manila police chief Magtibay. Accounts from Emerald restaurant employees said the President arrived at around 8:30 p.m.)

Coming like a bold face exclamation point to the continuing sore was the hack attack on the web site of the Philippine Information Agency “pia.gov.ph”with their hackers planting the Chinese flag on the site:

If these tangent events drag on, the healing WILL NOT come easy.

The ranking police officials who were in command of the assault units in Monday’s  bloody end of the tourist bus hostage-taking incident at Rizal park were not incompetent. They were quite possibly criminally negligent.

This is the only conclusion one can infer from the Senate inquiry into how and why the bus hijacking committed by a dismissed Manila policeman, ex-captain Rolando Mendoza led to a bloodbath that took the lives of eight of the remaining hostages all of whom were ethnic Chinese tourists from Hong Kong.

The Senate hearing extracted the admission that while the assault was clumsily carried out by the ill-trained and ill-equipped Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team on the Manila police there actually was a Special Action Force was standing by at the scene.

The policy officials lamely reasoned out that it was their “judgment call” for the SWAT unit to move even though “because of the urgency of the situation” that SWAT operatives did not have time to put on their gas masks and use other equipment other than mallets to try to break the bus windows open.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100826-288877/Police-failed-to-bring-gas-masksofficial

As the congressional inquiries “in aid of legislation” are commencing at both the Senate and the House of Representatives, there is a disturbing graphic animated recreation of how the hostages were murdered by the disgruntled former policeman.

Hong Kong newspapers have roundly denounced the “incompetent” handling of the hostage-taking incident.

Now comes this  video below put together by TV producers in Hong Kong and posted on YouTube.

The piece cross edits actual video of the exterior of the bus as the police assault takes place with computer animation of what supposedly took place inside the death bus.

The recreation, according to my sources, is based on the narratives of the survivors who returned to the former British colony last night.

Be forewarned that the recreation is graphic and can cause extreme anxiety.

The recreation begins with Mendoza angrily throwing down the brown Manila envelope containing the letter from the Office of the Ombudsman responding to the hostage taker’s demand that his summary dismissal on graft charges be reconsidered and that he be given his job back:

2nd UPDATE

Your Midfielder has confirmed that the original poster of the video has now taken it down.

The material has borne the domain address “applydaily.com.hk” but was not widely aired by free TV stations in Hong Kong TV.

FaceBook reactions from several Hong Kong residents had questioned the truthfulness of the recreation with some calling it “exaggerated.”

This underlines the need for the public both in Manila and Hong Kong to eventually be told the contents of any affidavit the survivors will execute in reply to the inquiry into the hostage taking incident  by the Hong Kong Interpol branch.

Given the highly graphic nature of the computer video rendering, the material could have served to further inflame passions at this sensitive juncture of the relations between the two jurisdictions.

Minus that exceedingly graphic computer generated images, the screengrabs below are representative:

3rd Updaate

It has come to At Midfield’s attention that the recreation video has been reposted but a different user, but this time titled only in Chinese.

The material has been so far seen by more than half a million YOUTUBE visitors: