Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around An International Incident
"We appeal on everyone to stop needless arguments. Let us show everyone that we, Filipinos, know how to respect and understand."
Noynoy Aquino on his Facebook page August 24 2010
Dang this guy is a moron. Noynoy believes that he is not fair game for criticism based on the events that transpired with the recent hostage crisis. Something as antique as the Bible has an expression you live by the sword, you die by the sword. It's OK for him to knock his predecessor. It's OK for him to belittle Richard Gordon. Yet when it's his turn to go from hunter to hunted , he wants it to stop. Criticism is a two way street. Noynoy would have known that had he ever taken risks in life. The ambitious in life take risks. I will let you decide how Noynoy has lived his life.
I am not an Obama fan as you may know but he did say the buck stopped with him. Personally I don't blame Noynoy for the bungling. Why? To hold him responsible is to suggest I had expectations he could control an organization that is known for taking bribes. I had no such illusions. Noynoy has done nothing to earn his current position. All he did when he campaigned was remind everybody who his parents were. Did he ever convince you at anytime he would be good at handling crisis by reminding you of previous ordeals where he has come out on top? No, all we heard was yellow this and yellow that. Yellow in some cultures is the color of cowardice. Cowardice to me is the absence of courage. I personally do not characterize a man who runs for the highest elected office in the land by using the memory of his dead parents as props as courageous. He talked about dead people, he never discussed anything he has ever done because there was nothing worth discussing. But that is just me. Well at least in the eyes of some Noynoy exhibited cowardice here.
Facebook and all that is fine when it's heaping praises on Noynoy but when the shoe is on the other foot he is crying foul. Then he says to stop it. To me that is the most moronic thing he has done through all this. A real leader would have known better. A real leader knows that criticism and second guessing is part of the territory. It's part of the job description. Being critiqued is what you signed up for pal. Unless it was others who signed you up based on "Winnability".
All Noynoy said when asked if he was worthy of this job was this it was destiny. Well it's the destiny of any leader and of any decision maker to be criticized. This is Noynoy's first crisis where the international community is looking at him. I predicted his response to it here.
To expect anything different is to expose one's inexperience and naivete. Then again, that was always the knock on Noynoy. There's more to leadership than wearing yellow and making an "L" sign with your hand. You made a mistake May 10 2010 Philippines. Enjoying the fruit from the tree of inactivity.
Ed
Philippines' Aquino calls for end to Facebook bashing
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 13:06:00 08/25/2010
Filed Under: Benigno Aquino III, Social networking, Grandstand Hostage
MANILA-- Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Wednesday appealed for a stop to government bashing over a hostage crisis that left eight foreigners dead, but his Facebook plea triggered more condemnation.
Aquino's official Facebook page, which he had set up to promote transparency in government, has been swamped with angry comments, from barbs against bungling policemen to calls for him to quit.
"We have heard and read a lot of opinions from the public, even from foreigners that were affected," Aquino said on Facebook.
"We appeal on everyone to stop needless arguments. Let us show everyone that we, Filipinos, know how to respect and understand."
The message triggered varied replies on the page, with some expressing support but many others dismissing it outright.
"Shame on you and your government. Tender your resignation now," wrote Elfis Lee, a Hong Kong resident.
"Your incompetence of leading your untrained stupid police force caused such a tragedy."
Jay Rodrigo apologised on behalf of Filipinos, but had strong words about his feelings towards Aquino, who won the presidency by a landslide in May but whose popularity now appears to be taking a direct hit from the tragedy.
"You see, our president is a retard who has done nothing but smirk in front of the TV cameras after all that has happened," he replied on the page.
"He's slowly killing our country coz of his stupidity."
An ex-policeman seized a bus-load of 22 Hong Kong tourists and three Filipinos Monday, triggering a 12-hour face-off that ended in a bloodbath following a police assault.
Aside from the gunman, eight tourists were killed, triggering angry comments from Hong Kong where the government has issued a travel warning for the Philippines.
It also put the spotlight on longstanding problems with the Philippine police force, which admitted to blunders in handling the crisis.
The Internet-savvy Aquino, 50, used social networking sites to promote his anti-corruption campaign and vows of full transparency in the run-up to the election.
His official Facebook
One of the biggest diplomatic blunders made by Noynoy Aquino was his clear evasion of speaking with the Hong Kong leader, Donald Tsang, while the hostage taking incident where Hong Kong nationals were taken hostage by a sacked police officer in a bus, and even after the hostage crisis ended in a bloodbath.
Tsang, at a press conference in Hong Kong, let out publicly that he could not reach Noynoy Aquino, President of the Philippines all that time.
It is evident that Noynoy deliberately avoided speaking with Tsang, or for that matter, any high Chinese official, because it is de rigeur that in such incidents, the line, or Palace hotline, is always open between two government high officials in crisis situations where both countries or their citizens are involved.
In fact, protocol dictates that when such situation arises, and since this happened in the Philippines, Noynoy should have initiated the call to his counterpart, in this case, Tsang, as Hong Kong is a special autonomous region.
Was there no one in MalacaƱang — or even in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to advise Noynoy of this protocol?
Not only did Noynoy not get in touch with Tsang, but that he also clearly evaded the calls of Tsang.
Worse, evidently, not even DFA officials, bothered to get Noynoy or the DFA secretary to speak to Tsang.
Tsang has demanded that the Philippine government must provide a full account of the deadly incident to the Hong Kong government.
The DFA did not refer to this, and has kept mum on this diplomatic blunder of Noynoy, only expressing Noynoy’s "deepest condolences to the government and people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the People’s Republic of China, especially the families and relatives of the eight Hong Kong Chinese nationals who perished during a hostage-taking incident."
Also, Noynoy remained silent all throughout, and even long after the 11-hour hostage taking situation ended in a bloodbath.
His reason? He wanted to get more information on the ground.
If so, he must then have known that there was no one in command and that the negotiations were taking too long without any action from the government.
As their President and Commander in Chief, even if the police are a civilian force, he could have had all the information from his top officials, both in the Department of Interior and Local Government and the police establishment, and would have known just how badly things were being handled, and moved in to bark direct orders to his officials.
Apparently, he did not do anything of this sort. What ground information did he want to have, when live TV was showing everything?
So what the heck was Noynoy doing all that time, watching TV and wondering how this hostage situation would end? Then when it ended, it took him forever to issue a statement which hardly said anything, and again laying the blame on media. He could have ordered the NTC to cut off live TV coverage. He didn’t.
Noynoy may be a new and inexperienced leader, but in instances as this hostage-taking, such opportunities are wasted and merely shows the lack of leadership and quick action of the part of the new President.
Just as insensitive was Tourism Secretary Bertie Lim, who, when interviewed on TV, said that this incident will not affect tourism and all that is needed is a public relations (PR) job.
At this time, when so many tourists died in a hostage negotiation gone wrong, and with Hong Kong citizens outraged over the murders of their nationals, Lim has to come up with that statement of tourism not being affected and this could be righted through PR?
PR is his answer to the tourists who died and were injured? Tourists who have been traumatized by the hostage situation that ended in a bloodbath?
It’s been blunder after blunder — and blunders that won’t easily be forgiven and forgotten.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIviu4T0pD4
http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1119/Noynoy_and_Winnability_an_Inquiry_into_Values
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100825-288708/Philippines-Aquino-calls-for-end-to- Facebook-bashing
http://www.stumblerz.com/why-do-we-call-a-coward-yellow/
http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1118/Noynoy_By_The_Book_Again
http://www.thedailyheckler.com/?p=382
http://bergersales.com/commentary/20100825com2.htmlhttp://www.gmanews.tv/story/184797/the-presidency-is-my-destiny-noynoy
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