Thoughts on the Manila Massacre of 2010

As both a Canadian and Hong Kong citizen, I am deeply disappointed in how the Manila Police Department's "Special Forces" division handled the situation. 8 people didn't have to die if they did it correctly.

1. Wrong guns, you don't bring assault rifles to close quarter combat situation, you tend to bring SMGs like the MP5 like they do in airports and other special forces situation as shown by Canadian, United States and Hong Kong forces.
2. They needed better equipment. That hammer was probably as useless as if they just chucked rocks at the window. You don't use a weak and thin rope to try to pull the door open. It failed of course. They also didn't have proper night-vision equipment. A glow stick just doesn't work.
3. Don't operate on unconfirmed reports. The Manila Police only stormed the bus when the bus driver came out running saying everyone's dead. Should they have double checked their sources, they could have prevented casualties.
4. Too many reporters. The reporters were doing more harm than good. The captor was watching and hearing about the event giving him a bird's eye view.
5. Don't arrest their family member and broadcast it, that just enrages the hijacker and cause more issues.
6. The Manila Police had multiple chances of taking down the hijacker since he opened the bus doors several times to expose himself. Should the snipers had been competent enough, he had the chance to take him out right then and there.

These are the shortcomings I see that hampered that day's operations and this could have ended in way less casualties.

I have no hard feelings for any filipinos but someone needs to retrain the whole "Special Forces" division as that was a complete mess and was broadcasted live globally which they should view this as an embarrassment.