The world's funniest rescue

The Manila Hostage Drama was way too short for it to be called a drama as it was obviously high on comedy and I would certainly signup for a fan page in Facebook if they came up with an otherwise sardonic designation of the event like “The Manila Hostage Slapstick” or “The World’s Funniest Rescue.”

Pardon my being mean. But right before our eyes was a nightmare unfolding -- the crisis portends that it is no guarantee that you will come out alive even if help is right under your nose! It makes you all the more think that we may be better off if we spend taxpayer’s money to hire private security than to employ policemen whose skills are as comparable to our barangay tanods.

Even a barber would opine that the hostage-rescue fiasco was a clear admission of the sordid state of our law enforcement officers on the ground and the incompetence and lack of negotiating skills of its leadership at the top.

Also, I did not also take it as a sign of humility when the Philippine National Police eventually admitted the next day that they were inadequate on the basis of lack training and all. I took it as an excuse to escape accountability and an opportunity to beg for more funds for training and equipment only to be wasted in corruption again. But more than that, the admission should be a cause for concern not only to tourists and investors but to all of us --- it is one way of saying that we cannot entrust anymore public safety into the hands of people who were originally sworn and paid to ensure its discharge. 

Another comic event was that, the government dismissed the incident to be an “isolated case” and that it was not well worth the president’s time. Ironically, the whole nation spent like a whole day to grieve over the aftermath with a National Day of Mourning. And why of all whys is that, why did the president even find it even more necessary to have those meetings held while he knew that the world was watching with fear and with the hope that he could have easily ended the deadlock and saved the innocent lives of tourists?

Quoting yesterday’s editorial of the The Freeman “Aquino was almost incommunicado during the crisis. Even a call from Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang, whose constituents it was who were held at gunpoint and eventually killed by a crazed former Philippine policeman, went unanswered.”

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In light of what happened in Manila, Cebu remains as a destination of choice for tourists who wish to travel in the Philippines. “Cebu has a very, very good image for the Japanese. It is peaceful.” says Hiroshi Nakamura of Travel Vision.

If you come to think of it, Many Asians come to Cebu because they feel they are at home here. Koreans for example have been here for a long time and constitute the major bulk of the tourists who frequent Cebu every year.    

For a long time, Koreans feel safer in Cebu than anywhere else in the country.

It’s also worth noting the quick response of Cebu City mayor Mike Rama of the crisis to cushion its impact. “We will just have to do our best in improving peace and order, disaster and calamity preparedness and quick response. We just have to continue to enhance our efforts to make tourists feel safe, secure and comfortable.”

Finally, I think we need to get back “the Island in the Pacific” campaign to shield Cebu from the travel advisories. It has worked before and there is no reason why it should not work today.

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