The Ateneo Economics Association’s Statement on the Implications of the Recent Hostage Crisis last August 23, 2010:
Together with the Philippine nation, we, the Ateneo Economics Association, mourn for the deaths and casualties that resulted from the hostage-taking by former Philippine National Police (PNP) Captain Mendoza last August 23, 2010. We condemn all the acts and shortcomings that led to the deaths of the innocent Chinese tourists, and that showed the lack of police training in handling the crisis. We are not here to make a stand on the tragic event based on any false hypothesis (e.g., “If only the police force did that, then this wouldn’t have happened.”); rather, we would like to express our solidarity with the community in urging the government to make sure that a tragedy like this will never happen again.
We demand that the government take effective measures to improve our police force (including the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team) and our processes for negotiations with terrorists; to impose stricter regulations on media if the benefit from coverage is outweighed by the danger such a coverage can cause; and to save our tourism industry and foreign relations from being damaged by the tragedy. As an organization of economics majors, we would also like to tackle each of the measures mentioned above from an economic perspective.
The goal of economics is not only growth or prosperity; rather, it also aims at the proper allocation of resources for society’s benefit. The government ought to channel additional resources for the betterment of our police force. Such resources may include additional funds for weapons, equipment, and training. Also, the government should look for ways to attract the best possible people to join the police force. It might be because of a lack of incentives (e.g., low salaries, few work benefits) that contributed to the dismal performance of a number of our policemen. While there are more pressing issues and vital recipients of such resources (like healthcare and education), the government should make the most of whatever funds or methods available to equip our police with the needed skills and gears. This is because the police handle situations that involve human lives—which, once lost, cannot be truly compensated by money, a contract, or any product or service. The government should also identify carefully studied precautions and guidelines in handling crises (for example, “When should an official of high rank, say the PNP chief, a mayor, or even a cabinet secretary step in?”).
The government should impose laws that forbid journalists from covering and broadcasting if they will only add to the danger of a situation. Further, the infliction of severe injuries, or the loss of human lives should never be the cost of media coverage. There are times when the benefit from “truth” or “information” should be forgone, or at least delayed, for the sake of the survival of persons. Common sense dictates that a hostage-taker should never have access to any information about the operations of the police or any special force planning his arrest, capture, or disablement.
The Hong Kong government, through a travel advisory, immediately warned against travel to the Philippines. Yes, the tragedy was an arguably isolated case; however, such travel advisory was probably based less on real security risks than on sending a message that our country is currently wanting of competence in handling similar crises.
According to data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (http://www.nscb.gov.ph/secstat/d_tour.asp), approximately 3 million tourists went to our country last 2009. Of these, around 1.2 million were from East Asia (which includes China and Hong Kong). The government should not let this lucrative industry be damaged by the recent hostage-taking incident, and should make sure that the image of the Philippines to the world is not that of “danger and inadequacy,” but that of “resilience and action” geared towards improvement. Otherwise, another possible consequence is a decrease in foreign investments.
Despite our emphasis on what the government should address, we are also asking the private sector to help in improving the PNP. Since they too benefit from tourism revenues and foreign investment, big businesses can do more to contribute resources to improve the skills and equipment of the PNP.
We are not here to reduce what happened as a result of the bad use of economics. We do point out that the good use of economics by the government, the police force, the media, and even the private sector, can save lives. We agree with President Benigno Aquino III that there must be investigations conducted on why the hostage-taking was not properly handled, and on how to avoid a similar event in the future. We can only hope that the government, under his leadership, will go beyond such studies and formal discourse. We would like to propose that the tragedy is perhaps a result of a complex interaction of our country’s problems (bad budget allocation, a crooked justice system, low salaries of police and government officials, unethical business practices, tax evasion, etc.)—aside from Mendoza’s individual crisis. Whether that assumption is true or not, it is about time that our whole nation—the government, the private sector, and each Filipino—roll up its sleeves and actually solve or at least lessen such problems.
