AT THE risk of sounding killjoy, we are a bit alarmed over what Inspector Celso Montil did during last Thursday evening's failed hostage attempt that resulted in the wounding of the perpetrator at the parking lot of a popular mall here in Cagayan de Oro especially since the hostage involved was a child of one of the victims.
To briefly recap, the perpetrator, a certain Edmar Becera, had just come from robbing the nephew of a certain Inspector Montil at Osmena Extension when he was spotted by Montil at one of the theaters and ordered to yield, causing him to panic and flee for his freedom.
Unfortunately in his panic, he managed to ram his vehicle and was forced to flee on foot. At the mall's parking lot, he happened to chance upon the victim identified as a Mrs. Josephine Dy and he shot her as she tried to prevent him from grabbing her child hostage.
It was then that Montil arrived and somewhere during the hostage situation, managed to shoot Becera somewhere in the upper portion of the body.
Good thing that a taxi driver managed to talk Becera down and convince him to give up the child, allowing Montil to bring him and Dy to a hospital for treatment.
Montil deserves credit for managing to wound Becera long enough for him to think twice about extending the hostage standoff further but the bigger credit should be given to the taxi driver for managing to talk down Becera for if he failed to do so, the child won't be breathing today.
Hostage situations are among the most difficult to handle in any situation; just ask the veteran cops. Firing at a hostage-taker requires some undue risk especially for Becera who admitted being high on cough syrup prior to his misadventure with his hostage.
One false or miscalculated move and an unsteady Becera would have shot down his hostage. To be fair, Montil may not have any means to contact police backup at the time of the incident.
Then there's no assurance that a group of police officers would have offset the tension prevalent during that incident.
The hostage taking a few years ago that resulted in the death of a four-year old child that was captured live on TV is a lesson in this regard.
But as much as possible--and this one cannot emphasize enough--police presence is a must to decrease the chances of a hostage-taking incident from ever escalating into something else.
Last Thursday evening's episode may have been a lucky break but it takes more than luck to resolve such situations. This is where experience and a lot of backup are crucial in arresting the perpetrator and saving the victim.
