DISCLAIMER: Go Tacloban! is about the best places to go, to eat, stay, hangout, partee, must see, must try, must eat, must drink, must buy, in and around the city, province and region...ACCORDING TO ME! It'll be about events, local and maybe national...and am hoping to mix in some juicy gossip as well...Reviews posted on this blog will definitely be biased according to My Taste. I am NOT a connoisseur of any sorts, i am simply a Taclobanon who is highly opinionated, loves to make "lakwatsa", eat, drink, shop, and take photos! (Photo above is of Zamora St., Tacloban City)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Rolando Mendoza and Venus Raj


I am saddened by the recent hostage drama that unfolded in Manila the other day. Not really a newsie person, yes i have my own little world in my bedroom...and so, i learned about it through the Facebook status/comments of friends (halleluiah FB, if FB didnt exist, i wouldnt know about whats happening outside my door!) And since my dad was outside watching in our "sala" (yes, at 38 i still live with my parents...but that's another blog topic) whenever i would leave the room to get something to drink or eat, i'd see bits and pieces of footage on the news.

I wondered what would push a decorated policeman into doing something crazy as to hostage a whole busload of tourists...sure, it would be easy to hate him, blame everything on him, but we can't deny that we as people are very fragile, specially our mind...nobody has ever been able to unlock the mysteries of the human mind, sure, there has been attempts at, but there has never been a definitive understanding of how it works, nor will there ever be i believe...

Going back to the now late Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza...as i said, it would be easy to hate, blame him for everything. But what pushed him to do what he did i wonder? I'm sure so many factors contributed to it, i hear he lost his job amidst reports of extortion and forcing a chef of a five-star hotel in Manila to swallow a packet of shabu. But then i thought, other people when confronted with a huge problem, doesn't go on "hostaging" a busload of tourists...some people, blow their brains out, swallow a bottle of pills, jump off a bridge, run in front of a bus, or tie a noose around their neck and hang themselves...usually, its a solo activity, not a group effort...

So why hostage tourists? Did he hate the Chinese? hates Chinese food? hates white chinky-eyed people with cameras? hate the Toursim Industry? for being un-organized? lacking facilities that is International ready? i dunno, it's so sad...

But then, i think, he thought that he would come out of this alive...Sure! people tend to agree with your demands and go through with it when you hostage a bunch of tourist at gun-point...i mean, people tend to agree with people who do that and think, yup, he's right, we should do as he says, let's give him what he wants, he has a point, he's on his right mind...NOT!

Seriously, Policemen, because they are allowed to carry firearms, should be subjected to regular psychiatric evaluation...like, say weekly? i mean, people can go off at anytime, a lot can happen in a week...hell! a lot can happen in day! an hour even! Dammit, people can go crazy at any moment! Argh! (i am taking deep breathes to calm myself).

And don't get me started on the "rescuing" Manila Police...the unorganized, incompetent way they handled the situation was just too painful to watch...i am sorry to say, but i don't wanna be in their shoes right now, it was just, as Simon Cowell of AI fame would say, "Atrocious!". I mean, i don't understand why they didn't just pretend to give in to his demands and finish the whole thing? I read from an article by a security analyst that a promise extracted under force is not a promise that you are required to honour-- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11069616 (Ok...ok...i read the article after i wrote this piece, but i did thought about it, i just didnt know how to put it in words :).

Just when the Tourism Industry is starting to recover from the Abu Sayaf events a few years back, Rolando Mendoza single handedly (ok ok...the bungling Manila PNP has something to do with it as well, ok A LOT!) throws the recovering industry's efforts out of the window in a few hours...Sayonara! Tourism Industry! And to think, i started this blog to help bring in tourists!

Thank goodness Venus Raj, Philippine Candidate for the Ms. Universe pageant, kinda "neutralized" the bitter taste left by the tragic hostage drama last monday, by "winning" fourth place, oh right she didnt win, but at least she was visible thru out the pageant...

I used to love watching pageants like Ms. Universe, but for some reason, it just doesn't hold the same magic as they used to, maybe because it's been awhile since the Philippines has won anything or at least has been visible...or because i no longer saw the point of watching a bunch of picture perfect girls strutting around with their "stuff" and answering a bunch of pointless questions...i just couldn't relate anymore i guess...but it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Maria Venus Raj of the Philippines was able to place in the top five...i tried watching the replay of the pageant, i lasted about two minutes then i changed the channel, only to go back to watch the Q & A of the top five...as Ms. Raj started answering her question my mind wandered away because it was just too agonizing to watch, all i heard was "major, major...".

4 comments:

by: ypille mia said...

I have been looking for ways to do bokeh lights - but alas i cannot conjure one up. I always end up doing what light I have captured in the pic. know of any tutorials?

geisha72 said...

what's ur camera? can you do manual focusing in ur lens? usually i just use manual focus then defocus my lens to produce the bokeh...are u talking about daytime or nightime bokeh?

by: ypille mia said...

i am talking about "anytime and whenever I want the bokeh, bokeh." lol! I have manual focus; but how does one defocus?
And how about if I wanted to apply some bokeh lights even if it was not there? can I do that?

by: ypille mia said...

speaking if "major, major," I guess the silliness of it can be compared to Whoopi Goldberg's reference about Roman Polanski's rape to a minor as not "rape, rape?" hehe..