Hostage-taker’s last interview

Excerpts from hostage-taker’s last interview - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

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http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100829-289333/Excerpts-from-hostage-takers-last-interview
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100829-289332/Last-interview-From-agitation-to-despair-death


The hands of the Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines, as an institution, has been tarnished by the Luneta Grandstand hostage-taking incident this week that led to the death of 8 Hongkong nationals. The hostage taker police Capt. Rolando Mendoza, as I understand it from news reports, was previously exonerated by the Philippine National Police and the National Police Commission in relation to the charge of robbery-extortion filed against him by certain complainants. But the Ombudsman found him guilty and dismissed him from the service, 2 years before his much-awaited retirement. He filed a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman but the same, just like all other cases pending before it, died a natural death in its archives without having been formally resolved notwithstanding the lapse of 9 months. The failure of the justice system killed the victims. I quote below excerpts from a recent news item (click the links above):

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In the first part of the interview, Mendoza railed against the Office of the Ombudsman.

He said it took a seven-month hearing for him to be dismissed by the Ombudsman from the police service on allegations that he had extorted money from a civilian.

But nine months after submitting an appeal, he said, he had yet to hear of his case.

Mendoza said he wrote three letters to Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez dated March 15, 22 and 28.

“I spoke with her just now. She said she had not received any letter. I said I had a return card. I said I sent her the papers,” he said.

‘This is garbage’

Late in the afternoon, the Ombudsman sent Mendoza a letter saying that his case would be reviewed. He read it on the air and branded it as trash.

“For me this is garbage. This is not what I need,” he said. “What I need is their decision reversing or not reversing [my dismissal]. That’s all.”

When Michael Rogas, the RMN anchor at that time, asked what he would do next, Mendoza said he would make an example of someone.

“Go away,” he told the bearers of the letter. “I don’t need that, sir. That means nothing …”

When pressed by Rogas, he aired a foreboding of things to come: “It’s likely that something bad will happen inside this bus.”

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