China on Friday condemned the draping of the Philippine flag on the coffin of a dismissed Manila police captain whom it described as a “cold-blooded hostage-taker.”
A strongly worded statement from the Chinese embassy in Manila pointed out former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza did not deserve such treatment because he was the principal character in the hostage-taking of a busload of Hong Kong tourists at the Luneta Park in Manila Monday morning.
Eight of the 22 Hong Kong hostages and Mendoza were killed while several others were wounded in the botched rescue attempt by assault teams after an 11-hour standoff that drew widespread criticisms both in the Philippines and abroad as well as demands for the dismissal or resignation of ranking government and police officials involved in the “fiasco.”
The embassy statement read in part; “The person who deserves a national flag at funeral should be someone of heroism, decency and integrity and not someone who inflicts atrocity on innocent lives. This is nothing but a smear on the dignity of the Philippine national flag.”
On Friday, three of the four sisters of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino – Ballsy, Viel and Pinky - motored to the scene of the tragedy at the Luneta to offer flowers and prayers for the victims.
The family of Mendoza announced he would be buried Saturday in a private cemetery in their hometown of Tanauan, Batangas province in Southern Luzon.
Hours after Beijing’s protest, Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Group announced that the Mendoza family had removed the flag from the coffin on orders of the Tanauan town mayor.
Carandang also said Mendoza’s family did the flag-draping on their own without permission from the government.
Also in Malacanang, another Presidential Communications Group official Secretary Herminio Coloma said President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino wants the formation of an “elite strike force” to deal with hostage-taking and similar major incidents.
As envisioned by the President, Coloma said the group would be composed of selected members from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“This is one of the possible steps being seriously considered by the President to improve response to such crises,” Coloma said. He admitted the Monday hostage drama showed the lack of equipment and lack of training of the assault teams who launched the rescue operation.
However, Coloma insisted that was the state of law enforcement that President Aquino has inherited from the Arroyo administration.
At the same time, reports are that demoralization has set in among members of the Manila Police District (MPD) whose head Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay acted as the ground commander of the botched rescue attempt.
Magtibay earlier owned full responsibility and blame for the fiasco and offered to go on leave pending the completion of a full-scale investigation, as ordered by Aquino.
But Director General Jesus Verzosa, the PNP chief, rejected the offer of Magtibay and instead ordered his relief and replacement by Senior Superintendent Francisco Villaroman.
Villaroman has hardly warmed his seat when he was replaced Friday following information that he is facing criminal charges at the office of the Ombudsman for his alleged involvement in the abduction of two Hong Kong drug suspects.
Villaroman’s replacement, Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla, took over as officer-in-charge of the MPD on Friday, an occasion which veteran lawmen have lamented as the rapid deterioration in the image of a police agency then known as “Manila’s Finest.”
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