SENATOR KIKO PANGILINAN: HOSTAGE INCIDENT UNDERSCORES THE NEED FOR URGENT REFORMS IN THE BELEAGUERED PNP

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan extends his condolences to the families and friends of the victims in the hostage incident that gripped the nation. He also says that bitter lessons will have to be learned from the harrowing episode.

"Our police have long been beleaguered by corruption, thereby leaving them ill-equipped and without proper training to tactically engage threats such as a hostage situation."

Pangilinan says the subsequent investigation of the incident should do more than bring to light ineptitude and expose lack of resources within the PNP--all of which have already been overtly stated repeatedly.

"The buck stops here. Let us do away with rhetoric. What happened was inexcusable and could have been prevented. Our police could not reach a lower state than where they are at now. Bitter lessons they may be, but this is a wakeup call for us as a nation wanting genuine reforms for our country. "

"Our people cry out for real results. Now is not the time to resort to finger pointing, nor will it help any that we go into the blame game. We are all to blame; some more than others. We are all responsible for the state of our nation. Now is the time to pull the bull by its horns and find long-lasting solutions to that which ails our national police."