A fifth senior policeman in the Philippines was suspended yesterday amid further revelations of bungling in the chaotic end to a hostage stand-off that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
The Philippine government and police have been under intense pressure all week after admitting to mistakes in the handling of Monday’s hijacking of a bus in Manila by a frustrated sacked policeman who was hoping to get his job back.
Eight of the tourists and the hijacker were killed in the final stages of the day-long siege, which saw an ill-prepared Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team attempt to storm the bus, but fail to get in for about 60 minutes.
Manila’s police chief, Leocadio Santiago, said yesterday a senior officer who joined the SWAT assault without permission had been suspended.
“We all saw him on TV. He was in the area, but he was not supposed to be there,” Santiago told reporters, as he explained the reasons for suspending superintendent Nelson Yabut.
The siege was broadcast live on television and viewers around the world saw Yabut joining the SWAT personnel without wearing a helmet, bullet-proof vest or any other protective gear.
Yabut was the fifth policeman involved in the assault on the bus to be suspended. Their commanding officer also took leave as part of his efforts to take responsibility for the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities, already furious over the Philippines’ handling of the crisis, expressed further outrage after television footage showed a Philippine flag draped over the coffin of the gunman, Rolando Mendoza.
“The person who deserves a national flag at [their] funeral should be someone of heroism, decency and integrity, not someone who inflicts atrocity on innocent lives,” the Chinese embassy in Manila said in a statement.
In reaction, the government moved quickly to have the flag removed, which Mendoza’s relatives placed on the coffin ahead of his funeral today.
The incident further stoked tensions in Hong Kong, where tens of thousands of people are expected to join a rally tomorrow to demand justice for the hijack victims.
The Philippines had planned to send a delegation to Beijing and Hong Kong for a fence-mending visit, but the Chinese government said it wanted an explanation for the police actions before allowing any diplomatic courtesies.
“We think the most urgent task is to get as clear an investigation result of the incident as soon as possible,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said on Thursday when asked about the proposed visit.
National police chief Jesus Versoza said yesterday it was too early to release any results of the investigations and pleaded for patience.
“We have a lot of things to study, so this might take a long time, so please bear with us,” Versoza told reporters.
It remained unclear who fired the bullets that killed the hostages in the final moments of the siege.
National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz said on Thursday preliminary tests indicated all died after being shot by Mendoza, but he conceded that more tests needed to be done and Verzosa did not comment on the issue.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source