And should the bus hostage victims and survivors seriously expect the Philippine government to meet their demands when the bus hostage-taker's demands weren't? Irony and/or absurdity much?
I asked PNoy if he really said sorry and see what PNoy said :
How many times do I have to say sorry?
Let me state and show you the facts:
I never said sorry on my Official Statement on the August 23, 2010 hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand,
why should I say sorry now?
Cheezmiss: But last year you said you apologized to Hong Kong. The Philippine Star said so.
What I said was that I have "expressed sorrow and regret over what happened."
And never did I say in that Official Statement "sorry" or "apology." If you find these words, I will give you all of PCSO's money.
Cheezmiss: So you never apologized but you also said that your expression of sorrow and regret is an apology in itself.
Of course I have to make you think I apologized without actually doing it. It's called manipulation. I make you think what you want to hear and voila, you do!
That makes it easy for me to wiggle my way out of being accountable. You should do that sometimes.
Cheezmiss: Isn't that lying? I should lie too?
You should because if you do, you could get away with anything, See, no one cares now that I was inconsistent. Last year I made everyone believe that my expression of regret is equal to = an apology. Now, I can blatantly say I shouldn't apologize at all.
Cheezmiss: Are you making this up as you go along?
Is it illegal to change my statement as long as it serves the image I want to project?
Cheezmiss: What image?
That I am humble, I am not proud, I am not arrogant and that everyone's my boss; that I could eat a hotdog in NY and take with me my whole entourage than spend $1,000 per plate in a restaurant whose name the average Pinoy could not pronounce.
Cheezmiss: Bat di na lang kayo nagpabili ng hotdog sa entourage nyo?
I want people to see me being frugal and humble. Pogi points din yun iha.
Cheezmiss: Kaya ba sa media lang kayo nag-so-sorry tungkol dun sa Manila Hostage Crisis, hindi dun sa mga taong apektado?
Just because I didn’t do what they wanted when they wanted it, just because I didn’t say what they wanted to hear,
does not mean I have to say sorry.
I may be the Commander in Chief, but NONE of it was my fault. The incident was sparked by one man. You want me to admit that it was made worse by the fumbling and/or passive actions of the government? Why would I want to do that? You want me to admit my mistake? Admit that the government made a mistake? No one in their narcissistic minds would do that. I-hostage nyo na lang din ako kesa aminin ko yan.
And I am not an expert in this situation. Who will tell me what to do? Who will tell me? I was not informed on what to do and how to do it so I allowed the persons who are experts to handle it. They're big enough to know what they are doing. I am not going to put my foot down and order them around. Let them do what they are good at. Do I have to micromanage everything?
But take note that initially, the signs were actually encouraging. The hostage-taker - despite being replete with a handgun and an M16 rifle which he could use on the foreign hostages in broad daylight and spark an international incident - was not violent at all. So we were..
Cheezmiss: Complacent?
we were hungry so we ate at the nearby Emerald Restaurant.
Cheezmiss: Isa pa yun ser, you're presence was neither visible nor felt during the whole incident. It seems you didn't care, that you weren't paying attention to what was happening.
To be fair to Emerald, masarap siopao nila,
And who knew the hostage-taker could be violent at anytime, how am I supposed to know when?
What more do you want from me?
Cheezmiss: You didn't consult your experts?
Let me repeat, It's not my FAULT, it's not the government's fault. Let me justify the reasons why:
First justification - it was not me or the government who agitated him, it was that unknown person he was talking to on the phone while he was reading the contents of the letter from the Ombudsman who promised to review his case. Why would I step into this delicate situation? I don't even know - and do not want to know anything - about his case. I was not even President at the time his case with the Ombudsman was filed! Ask GMA! Maybe she'll say sorry again, but I won't.
Second justification - it was the hostage-taker's brother who added to the tension and which prompted the hostage taker to threaten the life of one of the hostages.
And the MEDIA! Don't get me started with the MEDIA!
If they had the self-awareness, self-discipline and empathy to regulate themselves and not wait for someone like me to rule them with an iron hand, none of the killings might have happened because none of the dramatic scenes would have been seen by the hostage-taker on the bus.
And the hostage-taker's cellphone -- CANNOT BE REACHED! He was not even answering the cell phone we gave him. I do not know why. Either he probably knew enough that he won't receive a call from me or he gave up hope that anyone could help with his case, I don't care! He was not answering his phone! Is that my fault too?
What finally pushed "the assault" on the bus was the escape of the driver. "A decision" was then made to immobilize the bus. Notice that I worded my statement enough to distance myself and anyone-in-authority from accountability.
Cheezmiss: Parang kung magsalita kayo parang sa Mars nangyari yung hostage-taking.
It's the only way I could mentally distance myself from the situation. I had nothing to do with "the assault" and the making of "a decision." Again, not my fault that "the incident tragically ended in the deaths of eight innocent civilians."
Cheezmiss: Kaya pala ung official statement nyo parang listahan ng mga may kasalanan. Like you're not part of it. Like you were far from it. As if you were not in a position to do anything about it. Kaya ba ser kalat kalat din mag-isip yung mga pulis. Kasi walang nag-uutos sa kanila?
"No one wanted to take the lead" Bernardo Espinosa, a SWAT police officer interviewed in History Channel's documentary on the Manila Hostage Massacre, "so we had to" he said.
Espinosa is spot-on because I obviously don't want blood on my hands. Period. But I did express "sorrow and deep condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage situation at the Quirino Grandstand" like a good president should. I may not care about how my hair looks but I am as vain as my sister and I value the image I want to project.
And my non-apology should be enough.
“Why can’t you just get over the past?”
After the conversation with PNoy, my heart said:
Be afraid because:
PNoy's presidency says one thing while meaning another.
PNoy's presidency is blatantly inconsistent - a red flag for lying.
if PNoy does not want to admit accountability for an international crisis, he can easily do the same for a local one.
**sigh*** at least si GMA marunong mag-sorry.
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