Dear Vice President Leni Robredo,

How are you, po? I am Cristine Santillana from Bachelor of Arts in Communication 1A
of Bicol University. I am writing this letter because I have a question and also, I am
honored, proud and eager to help you. We can only imagine how busy you must be and
how stressful it must be at times. It's not simple to go from 1 percent to Vice President.
And we're confident that being the country's second-most powerful person—with all the
obligations and challenges that come with it—is slowly sinking in.
Hostage-taking is not widespread in a country plagued by crime, insurgency, and
terrorism, especially in the south, where Abu Sayyaf has made it their livelihood to keep
civilians’ hostage. In reality, Filipino military personnel who have been trained and
collaborated with US Special Forces are well-versed in crisis management. Even though
the Philippine National Police (PNP) possesses elite SWAT and Special Action Force
(SAF) units to cope with such situations, the detachment involved in the recent hostage
incident was unusually unprepared.
The incident brought the Philippine law enforcement sector's ability to properly manage
crisis circumstances to the attention of the international community. The first
responsibility in any situation like this is to ensure the hostages' safety at all times. The
public's fury was heightened by the hostage response team's multiple missed
opportunities, which may have resulted in fewer casualties and a more acceptable
outcome. In the end, the police team's lack of professionalism, the lack of rapid counter-
measures, as well as the Philippine leadership's indecisiveness drew significant
condemnation from a global audience that was closely following the events as they
transpired.
In a highly delicate issue, the wide media coverage gained significant airtime on local
and global networks, which was a tactical blunder in and of itself. It turned out that it had
played a role in the overall failure of the police response to the crisis. For starters, it
exposed the Philippine police force and SWAT squad to a public that was both emotional
and critical. Moreover, the presence of the media hampered a sensitive procedure.
The need to pay closer attention to the hostage takers psyche appears to have been
overlooked during the negotiations. When a person is sad, suicidal, or cold-blooded, their
lives are usually put in jeopardy. This event is exactly what happened in Manila.
According to experts, a professional practical psychologist acting as a negotiator or
backup negotiator must use every form of communication tactics to resolve a hostage
crisis. Government officials, police officers, politicians, journalists, and even celebrities
have led the majority of negotiation teams in hostage situations in the Philippines. The
experts' advice should have been taken into consideration.
To avoid repeating the same tactical errors in the Manila Hostage Crisis Incident, how will you
prevent it? What platform should you use?