THE Philippine National Police admitted they made mistakes in handling the hostage taking incident in the Manila on Monday.
A dismissed police officer, Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, armed with an M16 rifle and a pistol seized a busload of 21 Chinese tourists and four locals to demand his reinstatement on the force.
The PNP said there were shortcomings in the tactics used and the assault team was ill-equipped.
They also said that there was no crowd control and no one was coordinating with the media.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said police should have asked the media to limit their coverage because Mendoza could see in television on what was happening.
Robredo added the arrest of Mendoza's brother, Gregorio, also a policeman, which was also broadcast live in the national television may have aggravated the situation. (Sunnex)