Asked if he thought there were lapses in the way the crisis was handled, Aquino answered, “How can I be satisfied when there are people who died?"
“For instance, for incidents such as this, equipment [are] necessary, the ability to deploy it everywhere in the country. Andami talagang kelangang gawin (There are a lot of things that must be done)," he said.
He added that “the method they (SWAT team) employed to breach was not successful. Obviously we will need better equipment and more training to be able to successfully breach such a scenario."
Aquino also justified the government’s decision not to choose a high-ranking official to negotiate with Mendoza, saying there was an opinion that it would lead to more demands from the hostage-taker, who might think a higher official could grant more privileges and concessions.
GMANews.tv