Roilo Golez speech, Manila Hostage Crisis, 25 August 2010 (1)

This is the speech of Congressman Roilo Golez on the Manila Hostage Crisis where he quoted the sober, very restrained August 24, 2010 editorial of the South China Morning Post, the leading English newspaper of Hong Kong. Here's the full editorial as provided by Raissa Robles:
This is a black day for Hong Kong. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families of the citizens shot in cold blood by a gunman in Manila last night. The grief and loss is shared by us all. We can but mourn.

Their lives were snuffed out so needlessly. They were tourists in a foreign city in a country known for the friendliness of its people. No-one could have predicted what befell them. We watched in horror as the live television broadcast unfolded and the tragedy became apparent.There are questions, so many of them. What drove a decorated former policeman to vent his frustration so murderously? How did he come to be in a tourist area? Why did the tour bus driver decide to stop for him? How can so deadly a weapon as an M-16 rifle be so easily obtained and carried through the streets of a city by someone no longer permitted to have one? Why were negotiations so protracted? Could more lives have been saved?

Some questions can readily be answered by those who know the Philippines, others can perhaps be guessed at with a degree of accuracy. A few may never be answered. We should not rush to conclusions, though. A thorough investigation has to be carried out.

Tourism is a mainstay of the Philippine economy. The nation is among East Asia's poorest and relies heavily on the income from foreigners to provide jobs and much needed revenue. Without them, the nation would be so much the poorer. It is an industry that has to at all costs be protected.

There will be a backlash from foreigners as a result of yesterday's mayhem. It is a wake-up call to the nation's government to deal with lax security, poor gun-control measures and the way its tourism industry operates. There has been an increase in the number of attacks on visitors of late. A South Korean man was shot dead by gunmen in another part of Manila yesterday; an American, a Briton, a South African and their Filipino partners were killed last month in separate murder-robberies in northern Angeles City.

Searching for answers will not bring back the dead. Retrospective protective measures will not heal the wounds. Some of us will forever avoid Manila, and maybe the Philippines itself, from now on. There are scars that run too deep to be forgotten.

An inquiry is needed, but it must be carried out properly. There cannot ever be a repeat of yesterday's incidents. The Philippines government well knows that, as do Hong Kong tour operators. Tragedies cannot be avoided, but every effort has to be made to prevent them.

There are, after all, too many guns freely available in the Philippines. Policing is not as it should be; corruption that runs deep through all levels of society is rampant in the police force. New president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino has made clean government a priority, but he is up against an ingrained system that stretches back decades.

There are no easy solutions. Aquino is not the first leader to promise change. The ills require long-term cures. What is important for now is that we remember those taken from us. Life is unpredictable and can be cruel. Even when we do our best to keep safe, the least expected can happen. It occurred in Manila yesterday for a party of Hong Kong tourists.

Thankfully, some survived. Their stories of luck and bravery will one day be told. But we also cannot forget those so helplessly cut down by a gunman. It is with thoughts of them that we mourn today.

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News & Politics

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• congressman
• paranaque

[raquebeb]

impressive thoughts cong!!! mabuhay po kayo sir!!!!!



[raquebeb]

impressive thoughts cong!!! mabuhay po kayo sir!!!!!