Jackie Chan and the Manila Hostage Crisis

The Philippines is now back in the limelight. This is courtesy of the Manila hostage drama and the "major major mistake" of Maria Venus Raj which are the top searches in the Internet.

To further increase the intensity of the Philippines popularity and/or infamy, action superstar Jackie Chan issued on twitter a statement on the disaster created by Capt. Rolando Mendoza in the Quirino Grandstand hostage-taking. According to the superstar, "I come back to hk & I hear terrible news about what happened in filippines (sic)."

Magsaya na lang tayo at kahit si Jackie Chan ay nakakaintindi. He added, "this kind of things always happen around the world. It happened to hk's people, the whole hk is talking about it. Its really sad. HK is a nation built by a lot of different people..don't worry! We do not hate!"

Pero sana para di na magkaroon pa ng hatred at wala ng sumunod pang hostage taking, gumalaw naman sana nang maayos at mabilis ang hustisya. If a police could complain on the turtle-paced justice system, lalo na siguro ang mga ordinaryong tao.

The media, the major-major mistake, and the minor-minor detail

After the "Major Major" answer of Miss Philippines Maria Venus Raj in the Miss Universe beauty pageant held yesterday, the Philippine National Police also had their reply to the disaster on the Manila Hostage crisis last Monday. Their response: They may have committed mistakes but the media overdid their live reporting of the situation.

Seeing his brother arrested live in television, hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza was outraged leading him to kill some of his hostages. As the survivor, Mrs. Leung, said: [The gunman] did not want to kill us. He only shot us after the negotiation failed.

Neophyte Congressman Gabriel Luis Quisumbing of Cebu shared the sentiments of the PNP to the point that he filed House Bill No. 2737 stating that “media coverage should be contained as not to hinder or obstruct efforts to resolve the situation.” Situations, according to him, may include hostage taking, bomb threats, coup d’ etat, and kidnapping.

Pero teka. Wala namang ico-cover ang media kung wala namang news. Kung hindi naman ganun ang klase ng pag-aresto sa kapatid ng hostage-taker, di naman siguro yung maco-cover.

Ikalawa, tama naman si Mrs. Leung. The police should not have waited so long before taking action. So the police themselves are the ones making news.

Ikatlo, palpak naman talaga ang hostage-taking handling. Ni hindi nga inalam ng mga pulis ano ang features ng tourist bus, kung may TV ba, saan ang mga exit at entry points, at ang pinaka-"major major" sa lahat, ni hindi nga humingi ang pulis sa may-ari ng bus o kaya sa manufacturer ano ang specs nito. So kung ang mga pulis na "expert" hindi nga alam ang mga ganitong simpleng detalye, why would they expect the media to be knowledgeable sa ganitong aspeto?

The PNP, including Quisumbing, expect the media to be responsible. Tama naman yun. Pero paano naman magiging responsible kung wala ngang sinabi ang mga pulis na "Hoy! Bawal yan. Nakikita tayo sa loob ni Mendoza dahil sa live broadcast niyo at nako-compromise ang mga ginagawa natin."? At paano naman sila makakapagsabi ng ganun kung hindi nga nila kino-konsidera ang mga simpleng detalye like pag-alam kung me TV nga sa loob ng bus? And, lastly, paano naman sila makakapagsabi eh hindi nga nila alam paano ang tamang proseso sa "pag-imbita" sa kapatid ng hostage-taker?

Ang sabi ni Mohammad na kaibigan ni Banoy, ang mabuti pa ay panoorin na lang ng mga pulis at media ang pelikulang "Newsmakers". Ito ang kuwento ng live broadcast ng hostage-taking sa Russia. Baka sakaling may matutunan na sila, kumita pa. Ayusin lang nila ng konti ang sistema hindi tulad ng original na inisip ni Katya (Mariya Mashcova), ang female lead sa pelikula. Marami daw na kopya niyan sa Quipo.

*****

Ang lessons dito:

1. Wala po sanang ping-pongan sa mga kasalanan. Kung mali, mali. Kung" big mistake", big mistake dapat at hindi "major, major problem". Period.
2. Sometimes, ang "major, major mistake" ay resulta ng hindi pag-pansin sa "minor, minor problem". Sabi nga ni Rolando Mendoza na nakapaskil sa bus: Big Mistake to Correct Big Wrong Decision.
   

From Captain to "Major Major"

The Manila hostage crisis that Captain Rolando Mendoza created is the first disaster that the P-Noy Aquino Administration encountered. But there is also a consolation. From the "captain-created disaster" comes the "major major glory and pride" to the Philippines -- the winning of Ms. Philippines Maria Venus Raj in the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant.

An interesting major major article is published by MyKiru Isyusero reproduced as follows:

Venus Raj "Major Major" answer in the Ms Universe 2010 Q&A Portion is trending on Twitter

Miss Universe 2010 4th Runner Up Maria Venus Raj has been trending for hours already on Twitter along with Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, the new Ms Universe titleholder.

But also trending is Venus Raj's "Major Major" answer during the Top 5 Q&A portion of the Miss Universe 2010 pageant.

"Major Major" has been trending there as some people making fun of Venus Raj's answer in the said pageant.

According to some, Venus made a major major mistake in answering the question: "What is one big mistake you've made and what did you do to make it right?" She could have been the Philippines' 3rd Miss Universe if she answered it right, they say.

Others suggest that Venus should have answered her mistake in not fixing the details on her birth certificate which brought major major problems to her.

Oh well, whatever they say, Venus Raj has definitely brought major major glory and pride to the Philippines 12 hours after the Manila hostage crisis that put the country into big shame.

It was just unfortunate that the 4 other ladies in Top 5 answered better but how do we know? 2 of them used translators and their answers sounded so good when translated.

And remember we were only hoping for a semifinal placement for Venus to end the 10-year drought of the Philippines in Miss Universe. Thus a 4th Runner Up honor is already a major major bonus. Let's just all be proud of her.

Link to the article, which copyrights are acknowledged to MyKiru, is found here.

So, let us be major major proud of Venus Raj. Her winning is a major major ad lib in this troubled times.

Mabuhay!