26 August 2010 / REUTERS/AP, MANILA
Commanders of a botched rescue of a hijacked Philippine tourist bus have been ordered on leave and weapons from the raid tested to determine responsibility for the deaths of eight hostages, police said on Wednesday.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the SWAT team’s slow-motion attempts to storm the bus, broadcast live around the world by TV networks, had left him exasperated, but defended his management of the crisis. “There was an expectation that the appropriate forces would be utilized for this, who have been trained,” Aquino told reporters. “This thing shouldn’t have happened.” The kidnapper, a disgruntled ex-policeman, was shot dead by police and eight of the hostages were also killed -- either by the gunman or in the rescue -- prompting anger in China and Hong Kong and demands for a thorough investigation. The crisis is seen as an early test of Aquino’s leadership, which was questioned before his election win in May given a lackluster political career, and his low profile during the crisis -- Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said he could not get his call returned on Monday -- has drawn criticism. Aquino, who rang Tsang on Tuesday, had said he had monitored the seen reacting to the hostage-taker, and had thought it best to leave experts to handle the crisis.
