Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Jesus Versoza on Friday said that the statements of bus driver Alberto Lubang that all the hostages were dead prompted ground commanders and negotiators to conclude that former Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza is no longer committed to resolving the hostage situation peacefully.
Versoza, in Friday’s first ever Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) hearing, said Lubang’s pronouncement also prompted Manila Police District (MPD) and Luneta Grandstand hostage stand-off ground commander, Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, to order Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operatives to start their assault on the bus.
“When the driver said that all of the hostages are already dead, it was then that the men on the ground realized that the negotiations have failed and police intervention is already necessary,” the PNP chief said.
As this developed, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Rico Puno said that Macalanang was already on the verge of granting the hostage-taker’s demand for reinstatement in the police force but decided against it on the last minute for fear that this may set a bad precedent in future hostage-taking incidents.
He also said that National Capital Region Police chief Leocadio Santiago already had a draft of a letter containing order for Mendoza’s reinstatement but it was not delivered because Mendoza supposedly started firing his rifle.
“There is already an order for Mendoza’s reinstatement. It’s one of our strategies and the order will be coming from the Office of the Executive Secretary. But on the last minute, we decided against it as it might set a bad precedent,” Puno said.
The DILG executive also said that during the early part of the negotiations, snipers scattered from different locations near the tourist bus already had a clear view of Mendoza and were ready to take him down.
But Puno said that they desisted to start firing at Mendoza because hostages might get harmed in the process. He bared that the primary objective at that time was to safely save the hostages, including the hostage-taker.
“We had lots of chances to take him down but we desisted to prevent any harm to the hostages. We had a chance, our snipers were able to have a good view of him even on the early stage of the negotiation,” Puno said.
Furthermore, Puno admitted before the panel that he was not well-versed and trained to handle hostage-taking situations like what happened in Luneta, Manila last week. This “handicap” he said prompted him to leave the negotiations with the hostage-takers to the police negotiators.
The DILG executive was appointed by President Aquino III to oversee and supervise the PNP.
But Puno expressed willingness to accept full responsibility, like what Magtibay did before he took his leave of absence, in the hostage-taking fiasco.
