Adding to the disgrace NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 08/27/2010

Adding to the disgrace

NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 08/27/2010 Malacañang has released an official statement from President Benigno Simeon Aquino III: “With the rest of the Filipino people, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage situation at the Quirino Grandstand. The secretary of Foreign Affairs has conveyed our deep feelings of sorrow to the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China and the people of Hong Kong through Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. I have tasked Secretaries Soliman and Lim to provide everything necessary for the recovery and return home of the survivors. I have directed the fullest cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities on the part of our officials. “From the onset of this incident, the hostage taker seemed to not be belligerent, as shown by the release of hostages. These were encouraging signs. “We were going to wait him out. The idea was to let the ground commanders who are the experts in this field handle the operation with minimal interference from people who are less expert. “But the situation deteriorated rapidly when, during the course of the negotiations, he was given the letter of the Ombudsman in which she promised to personally review his case. As he was reading the contents of the letter, while talking to an unknown individual on the phone, he became increasingly agitated. “The presence of his brother also added to the tension. “At this point, he threatened to kill a hostage. The police decided to remove the brother from the scene. As the negotiators were departing, the negotiators were shot at. “Media coverage of his brother being taken into custody further agitated the hostage taker. “Shots were fired. They seemed to be warning shots, as there was no audible indication of tumult or chaos to show that the hostages were in immediate danger.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100827com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Grow up, people FRONTLINE Creating more damage focus US leaves behind murky picture in Iraq NO HOLDS BARRED Adding to the disgrace DIE HARD III Yellows, GMA to blame FEATURE Top Ramadan TV show satirizes, irks Saudi hardliners focus ‘Sons of Iraq’ feel betrayed ‘Sons of Iraq’ feel betrayed