proposed media guidelines during hostage taking and terrorist attacks

we thing this should be the guidelines that should be imposed during hostage taking and terrorist attacks:

• the police or security forces  have full control and authority of the whole situation, the area, media coverage and all other components relating to the event.
• this control, power and responsibility fully and exclusively rests on the field commander designated by the security establishment. all actions and decisions will be made by the commander and are final.
• a media point person will be designated by the security forces who will ensure compliance by media.
• media will occupy a specific area  designated by the security force. media will not go out of this area. this area will ensure safety for media personnel, ensure security forces movements and actions are not compromised but allows media to take usable audio and video footages.
• at no point during the event will media establish any form of communication with the hostage taker, relatives and friends of the hostage taker,  the negotiator, field commander and all other security forces in the area.
• media may not broadcast live  the actions, positions and movements of all security forces in the area and those being sent to the area. this will include  audio, video, descriptions, text, mobile, through telephone landlines and the internet.
• media may record the above but not use them for any live broadcast. they may choose to air these after the situation has been resolved.
• the field commander may ask for a news blackout which media will comply immediately.
• after the event has been resolved, media may interview the hostage taker, relatives and friends of the hostage taker and security personnel, security forces and medical personnel but can only do so after a debriefing has been done by the security forces and given clearance for media interview.

chilling audio recording of interview with media and hostage taker moments before hostages were shot

this interview conducted by radio media with ronaldo mendoza, the hostage taker just moments before he shot the hostages is clearly wrong and should have not been done by media. what this radio station did was interfere with negotiations the police were conducting with the hostage taker.

it is important that in negotiations with hostage takers, the hostage taker talks to only one person, the hostage negotiator. obviously, nobody else knows that was being discussed between the hostage taker and negotiator. adding a third person into the mix has the potential to confuse the hostage taker, give him false hopes and removes the trust that has been established between the hostage taker and negotiator.

aside from getting a scoop over all other media, there is really no news value in this kind of interview done by the radio station. even the questions being asked by the interviewer did not make sense and something of no interest to the audience.

clearly this is irresponsible journalism.

venus raj’s major, major mistake – not using an interpreter. what did she really mean?

this is next here

Question: During the Miss Universe question and answer portion, Raj was asked by American actor William Baldwin about the biggest mistake that she made in her life and what she did to make it right.

She replied, “You know what, sir, in my 22 years of existence, I can say that there’s nothing major major problem that I’ve done in my life because I’m very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me. So thank you so much that I’m here. Thank you, thank you so much!”

venus came very close to winning the miss universe3 crown. she was doing very well during the pageant, a crowd favorite and her beauty was exotic and unique among those in the top 5. if she gave a great answer to the question, she could have won the crown.

but she did not. she gave a boring and lame answer to the question, not only did she give a boring and lame answer, she committed a major, major grammatically incorrect answer.

in her answer, the now famous “major, major” line was her thinking in pilipino and directly translating the pilipino words into english unmindful of the grammar.

“major, major” is actually “major-major”,  like the way we speak in pilipino when we describe something that is a lot, very much or intense. this is us talking in pilipino  like “ang laki-laki”, “ang ganda-ganda” or “ang init-init”.  we repeat the adjectives to mean “very much” when we talk instead of saying “napaganda mo”, we say “ang ganda-ganda mo”. they mean the same.

she took those pilipino way of speaking and directly translated it into english words, thus “major-major mistake”, meaning “very major mistake” or “huge mistake”.

venus’ english skills are passable as conversational english in the philippines among filipinos but we think it is not good enough for an international beauty contest such as the one she had.

she should have been more realistic about her englsih skills that she should have used an interpreter instead. there is nothing wrong in using an interpreter in international beauty pageants, many use them . using interpreters removes the weakness of below par english skills and in fact enhances the chances of  the candidate as it will be much easier for her to collect her thoughts and be smart in what she says as a reply to the questions.

the grammatical error aside, her answer was lame, almost a none answer.  it also shows very weak  composition and the idea she was putting across was not anything impressive for a beauty contest like the one she competed in.

actually what she wanted to say was this – “In my young age, I really cannot think of any major mistake that I have committed. I have been very lucky so far, I am here now because of the love and support given to me by my family. That has been so strong that I am here now, competing in this prestigious contest.”

the lesson here is this – let’s be realistic on the english skills of our beauty contestants and use interpreters. with an an interpreter, you immediately remove the possibility of an error in  grammar and the candidate just focuses on giving a great answer in terms of content and drama.

no more major-major errors, please – let’s use an interpreter next time.

videos of manila bus hostage siege

‘Visibly lacked…competence’

One of the survivors, who identified herself only as Mrs Leung, told reporters: “Why was there no one to help us after so many hours?”

She said her husband had been killed trying to stop the gunman from shooting other passengers.

“I miss him. I actually really wanted to die with him. But I think of my children,” she said.

Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang also criticised the way the siege was dealt with.

And security analysts questioned whether the police were trained to handle such a situations.

Frederic Gallois, who once commanded France’s elite hostage rescue unit, told the AFP news agency that the police operation was “badly prepared and risky”.

Mr Gallois said the officers involved “visibly lacked adequate equipment and tactical competence”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11066656

Manila bus hostage drama ends in bloodshed – questions the police need to answer, rate the police here

some things did not make sense:

• the police did not seem to put enough effort to negotiate for a peaceful end. they rushed the whole thing and did not seem to bother to wait it out.
• they had no control of the situation – media had too much free reign. crowd control was non-existent after the hostage taker was neutralized.
• why did they want to arrest  gregorio mendoza, the brother of hostage taker ronaldo mendoza? they did the arrest in a most horrific way on live TV which the  hostage taker can see on TV or hear on radio inside the bus. that horrific arrest of the brother must have angered the hostage taker.
• what is the point of arresting gregorio mendoza? did they have to arrest the man tonight?
• the police did not think that kind of arrest will  agitate the hostage taker?
• the police did not seem to have a clear and well thought out plan on getting inside the bus. clearly, they did not know how to get inside the bus – they attempted in at least 3 parts of the bus with each one a failure. they did not think that through? it took them more than an hour to get in and after failures.
• the police put the hostages in mortal danger while they were attempting and failing to enter the bus. the failed attempts to enter the bus must have angered and made the hostage taker worried. it also allowed the hostage taker to take action against the hostages.
• how did the hostages die? did the hostage taker take their lives or were they killed due to friendly fire?
• why did the police lob tear gas inside the bus when  they did not know the situation inside the bus? where the hostage taker was and where the hostages were. they acted blind of the situation inside the bus.

Hostage-taker killed as drama ends
By Tetch Torres, Cathy C. Yamsuan
INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:52:00 08/23/2010

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 4) It’s over. The dismissed policemen who held over 20 foreign tourists hostage for close to 12 hours was killed by sniper fire, according to a television report.

It was not clear whether there were survivors from those taken hostage Monday by Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza who demanded his reinstatement after he was dismissed on drug-related offenses, which he denied.

Mendoza’s bloodied body clad in fatigue pants and a red jacket which was used to cover the hostage-takers face has been taken away from the site and brought to the Ospital ng Maynila (Manila Hospital).

The law enforcers broke the windows and tried to enter the door of the stalled bus but were stopped by gunshots coming from inside the bus, footage showed.

Bursts of gunfire were heard from inside the tourist bus as lawmen have gone to the backdoor to force it open in the hope of seizing Mendoza and rescuing his hostages, footage on GMA Network showed.

A bystander, identified as a 10-year-old boy, was hurt following the gunshots and was brought to the hospital for treatment, according to the television report.

A police car moved closer while members of the raiding team continued to break into the back of the vehicle, video showed.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20100823-288424/Hostage-taker-killed-as-drama-ends

willie revillame wants out of abs-cbn contract, is a legal battle the next step?

willie revillame called a press conference yesterday to announce his desire to get out of the his contract with abs-cbn. apparently his contract with abs-cbn runs until september 2011. he wants out of it as he intends to produce and air his own show. his contract with abs-cbn says he can’t appear in a tv show similar to wowowee.  apparently abs-cbn only offering him to host a once a week taped program that will be aired over cable tv, not the abs-cbn’s channel 2.

we understand why willie wants out of his contract. tv shows is what he does and coming from a very popular daily tv show with adoring fans and huge fees, it must be really hard for him doing nothing at the moment and being offered a once  a week tv show on cable.

sidebar – what got our eyes to pop was not that abs-cbn intends to air the show they are offering willie on cable but that it will not be live but taped. we thought that was included there to give the tv station the option to remove any offending statements on new threats to resign before it is aired.

in yesterday’s press conference and accompanying news articles, many details  were revealed in the latest willie revillame saga. apparently the parting of ways was done through a long process of  many meetings,  promises made then broken and hurt feelings on the side of willie.

we think abs-cbn has made the right decision in canceling wowowee and removing revillame from wowowee. revillame has used up all the goodwill he has earned from being one of the country’s most popular tv host in his latest gambit on live tv. he may be popular but he did step on very large toes at abs-cbn and doing it in the most public of ways –  on live national tv.

will revillame once again survive this one?  does he still have an audience? and will another tv station hire him?

with his statements, it appears he will be a block timer. that means he will buy airtime hours from a tv station for him to air his own tv show. he will have full creative and marketing control on it and will be his own man. he has the money to do something like that  and we assume he has the brains and the creativity to pull it off. the question is – will it be true that when he builds it, will they come?

revillame wants to be free from the contract now, not one year from now. he probably thinks a layoff of one year from national tv will shrink his audience base.  pilipinas win na win, the show that replaced wowowee is apparently doing very well in the ratings so his hears of losing his audience base may have some basis. if the the tv viewers did not seem to miss wowowee, what is the reason why they won’t miss willie?

the showbiz aside, we think yesterday’s press conference is an prelude to a looming legal case with abs-cbn. he had the press conference to marshal his fans into action, to draw support to pressure abs-cbn and eventually the courts.

the willie revillame drama has taken a new chapter.

Revillame scraps ABS-CBN contract
By Cynthia Balana
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:32:00 08/10/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Willie Revillame wants out. ABS-CBN says, “No way.”

The controversial TV host Monday said in a press conference that he was rescinding his contract with the network, on account of the shabby treatment it was giving him.

Revillame complained of what he believed were continued violations of the terms of his contract with the Kapamilya station. The TV host is bound by a contract until September 2011 to the Lopez-owned network.

ABS-CBN gave Revillame his biggest break through the daily noontime game show, “Wowowee,” which was recently canceled after more than five years.

In a statement released shortly after Revillame’s press conference in a Quezon City restaurant, the network insisted that it was the TV host who violated “behavioral provisions” of the contract when he threatened management during the May 4 episode of “Wowowee.”

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100810-285884/Revillame-scraps-ABS-CBN-contract

colonel ariel querubin comes home

we are publishing here an email sent by pong querubin, colonel ariel querubin’s wife to a yahoogroup for parents of ateneo students after the colonel returned home from prison.  we are publishing it here to celebrate the joy of one family.

Thanks so much for your kind words. We really appreciate it.

As a Marine officer, my husband was an absentee father even when he was still in the active service, for most of the time, he was out in the war zones like Basilan and Jolo and other parts of Mindanao.  We would see him only 2 to 3 days in one or two months.  I was praying so hard then to protect him from danger…

After the Marine Stand off in Feb 2006, when JAQ was 8 years old and was in Grade 2, he told us he was embarrassed in school because his classmates would tease him about his dad being in prison.  Until one of his teachers told him that he should be proud of his father because he is a hero and just stood up for his principles.  Now he is proud to be his dad’s son.

When my son AJ from 5 Intramuros arrived from school yesterday, he gave me a note from the mother of one of his classmates.  The mother related how her son told them over dinner that he was sad and also very happy for his classmate (AJ) re: the imprisonment and the release.  And during their prayer time, he offered a prayer for his classmate’s family.

I was so touched, I cant help but cry… how an innocent 11 year old boy would think and remember to say a prayer for somebody else outside their family…

The last four (4) long years were difficult but looking back I believe it was a blessing in disguise.  It gave our family quality time every weekend when we visit my husband in the detention center. Seven of us would sleep in one small room close together… there was only enough room for the door to open.  Those were the times when my 3 small boys would play and wrestle with their dad… But every time we go home, they would cry because they would want to bring their dad home with them.  It broke my heart looking at my kids clinging to their dad but I had to be strong for my children and my husband….  and they would always ask: “Mommy, when is daddy coming home?”

We survived and now he is free!  He is finally home.  I can not explain my happiness.  I know my children are very happy too and finally at peace.

Thank you to the sincere friends and relatives who helped us endure the incarceration.  The Medal of Valor of Ariel was a gift from the Lord.  One of the benefits of a Medal of Valor Awardee is free education in any private or public school from pre-school to post graduate. That is why we can afford to send our kids to Ateneo.

Thank you very much and may the good Lord continue to bless us all…