The Philippine government can recover its international image tarnished by the Quirino grandstand hostage fiasco by firing key civilian and police officials who had played important roles in bungling the rescue effort for the Hong Kong hostages.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said President Aquino should serious consider giving up the services of Secretary Jesse Robredo of the Department of Interior and Local Government; Secretatries Ricky Carandang and Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Group if he wants to show the world that he is committed in making amends with the Chinese government in connection with the incident.

Robredo was blamed for failing to direct the Philippine National Police in ensuring the safety of the hostages while Carandang and Coloma were assailed for not reining in media practitioners from broadcasting live police rescue operations that were monitored by the hostage taker, former Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza.

For his part, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo said Aquino should also apologize to the Filipino people for showing indecisiveness during the Monday hostage incident.

Arroyo said Aquino must apologize to the people, after first claiming that there was no need to say sorry to Hong Kong, for disappearing while the crisis dragged on and hostages were starting to get killed or hurt.

Arroyo stressed that Aquino was the commander-in-chief of the police and it was clear from video footages that policemen at the scene lacked direction and control.

“The hostage crisis has put us to shame in the eyes of the world community. And President Aquino was nowhere to be found, and out of reach by everybody, at its most critical and bloody moments,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo said Aquino’s indecisiveness was further proven when the President refused to take the call of the chief executive of Hong Kong at the height of the crisis.

He described as an idiotic excuse Malacañang’s claim that Aquino failed to take the call because of an ongoing meeting.

“It was the head of government of the hostages checking on the conditions of his people, like a father looking after his kids. For him not to take the call was not only an unforgivable diplomatic blunder but also pathetic arrogance and vivid display of incompetence and not knowing what to do,” Arroyo said.

But as far as San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito blame should be shifted to the former government leadership which trained police not in solving hostage incidents but in securing its officials.

“The police were not prepared for the crisis situation because for nine years, especially the Manila’s Finest parang naging task nila is to protect Pampanga’s best (GMA),” said Ejercito.

Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla, slammed Ejercito for injecting politics in the incident.

Padilla said the death of the hostages should be blamed squarely on the lack of equipment and training of police in facing such situations.

“Huwag na nating haluan ng politika, huwag na nating sabihing Pampanga’s best, there are things that are basic, sa crisis management regardless of who is the President, don’t tell me na hindi SOP at certain level may crisis management team kaagad, part ng SOP iyan, alam nila (police) ang dapat gawin,” said Padilla in the same forum.

Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, a retired police general, agreed that there were indeed operational lapses but he urged the public to stop making conclusions until the investigation is completed.

Acop said airing speculations will not help resolve the problem.