The Case of Manila Hostage Taking Crisis

Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
College of Criminology
Manila Hostage Taking Crisis
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The goal of this research is to provide an information

about what happened during the “Manila Hostage Taking Crisis”
and also to tackle all the lapses that had made by the
government and the police in settling down the situation
properly.This will give details about the incident who took
the life of the tourist from Honkongwhich affected the

relationship of the Philippines and Hongkong during that time.
This research was carried out by selecting the brutal
killing of 8 tourist by the former police who wanted to be an
official member of the Philippine National Police again.. This
case was about Rolando Mendoza, who lost his job and wanted to
turn it back by the use of inappropriate manner. This will
also discuss the failure about the negotiation and decision by
the government during the day August 23, 2010.
INTRODUCTION
Crime is present in various forms in the Philippines, and

remains a serious issue throughout the country. Illegal drug
trade, human trafficking, arms trafficking, murder, corruption
and domestic violence remain significant concerns. The
Philippines has a high rate of murder cases, which is the
highest in Southeast Asia as of 2014.
Hostage taking incident is mostly made by person who want to

get immediately what they want. In this kind of incident, an
expert negotiator is necessary for calming down the situation
and settling all the decisions properly.
The Manila Hostage Taking Crisis is an incident which was
transpired in Quirino Grandstand made by Rolando Mendoza. In
his early life, Mendoza is a hard-working and kind. He
received lots of award for being brave and loyal to his
profession.
Rolando Mendoza was a part of the PNP and was considered as
one of the best. After a couple of years, he was still a part
of the force but was caught in some anomalies regarding drug
related cases wherein he was accused of planting drugs in one
of the people in thewatch list and was also involved in a gang
rape related case in which later was dropped because the
victims or witnesses did not show up to court. In relation to
these cases, he was dismissed by the Ombudsman and was
immediately removed from his post.
Rolando Mendoza wanted to return as an official member of the
Philippine National Police but he was denied due to the issue
or case filed into him. That is the time when he decide to
uses unlawful way to achieve his aim or by committing the
hostage taking.
The government and the authority respond to this incident
but many lapses and flaws was experience during their response
which take the situation into a worst nightmare.
1.1 Background : Manila Hostage Taking Crisis
On the morning of August 23, 2010, Rolando hijacked a
tourist bus and caused ruckusto Hong Kong nationals and some
filipinos. The negotiations were gruesome as it led to the
deaths of 8 people. Live broadcasts were covered by every
station in the Philippines and Hongkong as well. Due to the
live coverages, the perpetrator was able to look at what was
happening around him and that led to him knowing the
kapuslisan’s every move.
Making it harder for the rescuers to handle the crisis.

Even Gregorio, Rolando’s brother even got involved in the
negotiations but it was not a successful move as Gregorio did
not follow protocol and that led to his arrest. This

infuriated Rolando even more and demanded that the stakes are
now higher, with his reinstatement in the PNP and being free
of all charges, and it now included his
brother’s freedom as well.
The Ombudsman was not in favor of the terms and quickly

dismissed the terms offered. But as the hostage crisis
situation got worse, it offered Rolando the option to be given
a fair trial. And eventually led to the Ombudsman’s approval
of the terms.
Which did not make it in time as the letter was stuck in

traffic. Back in the situation, the SWAT team tear gassed the
bus which led Rolando to get out of the said vehicle and led
to his demise. Snipers were stationed everywhere and killed
him in an instant.
Causes :
Former Philippine National Police officer named Rolando
Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus in Rizal Park, Manila,
Philippines, on August 23, 2010. The bus carried 25 people: 20
tourists, a tour guide from Hong Kong, and four local
Filipinos. Mendoza claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed
from his job, and demanded a fair hearing to defend himself.
Negotiations (which were broadcast live on television and the
internet) broke down dramatically about ten hours into the
stand-off, when the police arrested Mendoza's brother and thus
incited Mendoza to open fire. The bus driver managed to
escape, and declared "Everyone is dead" before he was whisked
away by policemen. Following a 90-minute gun battle, Mendoza
and eight of the hostages were killed and several others
injured. The main cause is Revenge, wanted to persuade
Mendoza's life to return to his old job.
Solution:
The action made by the police enforcers did not go well and
add to the tension of the situation. Negotiations led by
police enforcers took place but collapsed when the suspect’s
brother was arrested. It was seen by the hostage taker due to
the fact that the negotiations was broadcast live on
television and the internet, the bus contains a television
where Mendoza can monitor what is going on outside and also
the tactics of the plolice. In this instance, media took a big
part in the broke down of the crisis management of the police
enforcers, media should not feature a live coverage of the
situation to hide the actions of the Police and limit the
awareness ofthe hostage taker. Special Weapons and Tactics
(SWAT) operatives were positioned to attack but failed to
contain the situation. Police enforcers should not do such
thing that can trigger the hostage taker who is armed and have
a lot of hostages.
As the eleventh-hour standoff concluded, the shocked public
was left with unanswered questions and emotional
condemnations. With the Philippines already marred by
turbulent politics, how can the country move forward from this
failure in crisis management? How can it claim back the trust
of the international community, especially Hong Kong and
China. The Philippine and Hong Kong governments conducted
separate investigations into the incident. Both inquiries
concluded that the Philippine officials' poor handling of the
situation caused the eight hostages' deaths. The assault
mounted by the Manila Police District (MPD), and the resulting
shoot-out, have been widely criticized by pundits as "bungled"
and "incompetent", and the Hong Kong Government has issued a
"black" travel alert for the Philippines as a result of the
affair.
Ipinadala mo
Recommendation:
Police response have many inappropriate actions during the
crisis, things end in different way if it is done correctly.
The police spent a long time smashing the windows of the bus,
whereas explosive charges (known as frame charges) would have
knocked in windows and doors instantly. This instance shows
the lack of equipment of the Police in such situations like
this, ideal equipment are very useful to make the job easier
and to have a higher chance of accomplishing the task.There
were numerous opportunities to restrain the gunman, in the
coverage we saw the negotiator is very close to the hostage
taker and yet they failed to unarmed the person, they should
try to unarmed the person so that they don't need to shoot
him. The video of the drama also shows there were occasions
when the gunman was standing alone, during the course of the
day, and could have been shot by a sharpshooter. This
opportunity missed by the police caused the lives of the
hostages. Police also should just give all the demands of the
hostage taker for him to satisfy and might calm the tension of
the situation. The gunman was able to follow events on
television, revealing to him everything that was going on
around him. This might be the biggest mistake of the police
because it is like revealing your moves and plan how to
apprehend the hostage taker, they must asure the
confidentiality of their action so that they can use the
element of surprise in dealing the situation. And lastly the
use of his brother in negotiations doesn't go well and instead
it triggered the hostage taker and the negotiations collapsed.
Police enforcers must dont do such things that can cause anger
of the hostage taker knowing the fact that he have a lot of
hostages and calming him up and try to make him surrender is
the best way of ending the hostage taking situation.
Appendices:
Figure 1. Philippines: 9 killed on hijacked tourist bus in

Manila
When they finally got inside, authorities said, they found

nine bodies: eight Hong Kong tourists and the ex-policeman who
had seized the bus to demand his job back.
The bloody denouement to the 12-hour drama in the heart of the

Philippine capital, witnessed live on TV, rattled a country
already accustomed to kidnappings and violence. It provoked
demands from the Hong Kong government for an explanation, and
an acknowledgment from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III
that his police need more training and equipment.
It was 10:15 am Monday in Manila when Rolando Mendoza, 55 and
married with three children, hitched a ride with the tourists
as they visited historic sites in the city. He wore a
camouflage uniform and carried an M16 rifle but didn't seem
unusual in the heavily policed capital.
Figure 2.LIST: Hostage-taking incidents in the

Philippines
MANILA, Philippines – Hostage-taking incidents remain one of

the many risks faced by any person in any country, which
sometimes turn for the worst if not handled properly.
On Monday, March 2, a former guard in a Green hills mall held

hostage at least 30 people, including vendors and mall
employees, after he was allegedly fired after going on absence
without leave for weeks. He demanded talking to fellow guards
and media.
Figure 3.HongKong: mourns victim of hijacking

A total of 18 condolence points across Hong Kong, together

with a dedicated facebook page, were set up by the city's
government on Tuesday, allowing residents to mourn eight Hong
Kong victims of the hostage-taking incident in the Philippine
capital Manila Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang visited
one of the condolence points set up at Leighton Hill Community
Hall in Wan Chai on the Hong Kong Island, where he led others
to observe a one- minute silence and presented a bouquet of
flowers for the eight slain Hong Kong tourists.
A monk consoles relatives of one of the hostages killed in
the bus siege during a Buddhist religious ceremony at the site
of the hostage taking in Manila on Tuesday.
Reference:
1.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11069616
2.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_hostage_crisis
3.
https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/1399-manila-
hostage-tragedy-a-less/#.YbC0DXkRWyV
4.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world/who-is-rolando-mendoza/
story-emzLsskAFbEtI5z8TwHWfK.html
5.
https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mendoza-rolando.htm
6.
https://www.csmonitor.com/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/
Philippines-bus-hostage-crisis/(photo)/295020
7.
https://www.whatalife.ph/the-manila-hostage-crisis-incident-
11-years-after-the-fact/amp/
8.
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/253176-list-hostage-
taking-incidents-philippines/
9.
https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/1399-manila-
hostage-tragedy-a-less/#.YbHHBNJBxdh

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Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Manila Hostage Taking Crisis

The goal of this research is to provide an information

the life of the tourist from Honkongwhich affected the

Crime is present in various forms in the Philippines, and

Hostage taking incident is mostly made by person who want to

Making it harder for the rescuers to handle the crisis.

not follow protocol and that led to his arrest. This

The Ombudsman was not in favor of the terms and quickly

Which did not make it in time as the letter was stuck in

Figure 1. Philippines: 9 killed on hijacked tourist bus in

When they finally got inside, authorities said, they found

The bloody denouement to the 12-hour drama in the heart of the

Figure 2.LIST: Hostage-taking incidents in the

MANILA, Philippines – Hostage-taking incidents remain one of

On Monday, March 2, a former guard in a Green hills mall held

Figure 3.HongKong: mourns victim of hijacking

A total of 18 condolence points across Hong Kong, together

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