The hostage situation lasted for 12 hours, and tragically, eight of the Hong Kong tourists were killed. This isn't the first bus hijacking in Manila. Years back, a man also hijacked a bus full of children on an educational tour. The standoff should have made our police re-think their tactical approach to such situations. Should have, but didn't.
Public outrage escalated in Hong Kong. Demonstrations were frequently made at the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong. There was even a Filipina domestic worker who was allegedly fired after and because of the incident. A lot of the Hong Kong people took to the social networking sites and posted their hateful messages, mostly to the Filipino people and the Philippines itself. Some cursed the Philippines and even vowed to never go to the Philippines and to forbid their family and friends from going to the country as well.
I tweeted my feelings about the whole outcome of the recent incident in Manila. And since twitter puts a limit on posts, I'll copy the tweet here, and explain more on it.
My tweet:
"I understand the Hong Kong people's sentiments and outrage for the Manila hostage-taking incident. I would also be angered if it happened to any innocent Filipino abroad. And I believe that the Filipinos are not exempt from such incidents. However, the way this is going, it seems like the only way for the HK people to feel "avenged" is for 8 Filipinos to die the same way. I don't think this is the way to go. The action of one individual, and the incompetence of some do not equate to the entire Philippine population. Yes, it's true that the situation could have been handled differently. And it's true that lives were lost. But there's just too much hatred. The Filipinos should still stand proud and stand by its country. Let us all stop blaming others. Our country needs us now more than ever. I don't want to start enumerating the incidents where innocent Filipinos were killed in other countries, and some are still awaiting justice. And I know there are so many. I hope the HK people won't take it against the Filipinos working in their country. I appreciate non-Filipinos saying good things about the Philippines. The Filipinos should do the same. Wherever we may be, we are FILIPINOS. It doesn't matter who the present leader is, we are still FILIPINOS. Be proud."
What is not normal is for the Filipinos to ridicule, laugh at, and curse its own nation, the Philippines. We should be the first to stand by our country. Yes, our police are ill-equipped to handle such critical situations, and yes, there are a lot of factors that contributed to the outcome of the hostage crisis, but we as a nation should work together to help the Philippines out of this situation. It is so easy to lay blame at the police or the President even, but this is not helping our country's current situation.
As a result of the incident, tourism will surely go down, especially from Hong Kong. One news report stated that there are about 500 canceled flights to the Philippines from Hong Kong. Tourism is one of the bigger source of jobs for our people in the country. When the industry goes down, the demand for tourism-related jobs goes down with it, and so will the jobs of many of the Filipinos. So, this is not the time to post anything in Facebook or Twitter that will degrade the integrity of the Philippines and the Filipino people.
Don't get me wrong. I was scared for the hostages and was glued to the TV almost the entire time. I prayed for the remaining hostages, and cried when I saw the bodies being carried out of the bus after. I got mad at the hostage-taker and for the means he carried out his cry for "help", by involving innocent people, including children! I felt embarrassed with the comments and the news reports on the "blunders" committed by the authorities in the situation. But I never wanted to badmouth the Philippines. I am still proud to be a Filipino.
I just hope and pray that the Hong Kong people do not take the Philippines and the Filipinos as their enemy. I also pray that we, the Filipinos come together as a nation in support of our country. There's just too much hatred that it breaks my heart to read Filipinos bashing fellow Filipinos in social networking sites.
