EDITORIAL - Better response

In Hong Kong, government officials and some of the former hostages expressed dismay over President Aquino’s actions on the recommendations of the special panel he created to investigate the Aug. 23 hostage incident. Yesterday Malacañang officials said they were still hoping that a high-level Philippine delegation could present to Beijing the results of the President’s review of the recommendations of the incident investigation and review committee or IIRC. The delegation is expected to be headed by Vice President Jejomar Binay, but so far Beijing has not found an appropriate date for the visit.

The world had watched the hostage incident unfold in real time on television, and by the time the crisis ended in horrific bloodshed, most people had formed their own conclusions about what went wrong. All that was left was to see how the Philippine government would respond to the fiasco. The hostages were tourists from Hong Kong, with five of them holders of Canadian passports and two of them British citizens. From the start the Hong Kong government and residents had made clear their sentiments about what they expected from Manila. Beijing was more cautious in its response; there were no public statements from the British and Canadians.

As local newspapers in Hong Kong reported, those expectations were not met in the review, which even some members of the IIRC found to be a letdown. It is doubtful that any explanation from the Philippine government about due process and the country’s judicial system can ease that disappointment. There has been no expression of satisfaction from the Chinese government.

President Aquino doesn’t look like he is about to change his mind regarding his review. What his government can do is to show the world that decisive measures are being undertaken to improve public safety in the Philippines to discourage hostage incidents. The government must also reassure the world that if a similar crisis develops, the Philippines will be better prepared in its response. Germany succeeded in doing this after the massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. A similar improvement in the Philippines would be the best message to send to Beijing and the rest of the world.