Exclusive: Maria Ressa Reportedly Says “Fantastic!” In Relation to Arrest of Rolando Mendoza’s Brother

Posted on August 26th, 2010. Written by Rico.

According to a quickly-deleted tweet posted by an ABS-CBN reporter, Maria Ressa said “Fantastic!” to a field reporter covering the arrest of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza’s brother, Gregorio.

The tweet read:

Talk to Zen Hernandez who was there when mendoza’s bro nagwala. Maria Told Zen: “Fantastic!”

Various sources have confirmed that the tweet was meant to be a direct message on Twitter, not meant for public viewing. Screenshots were taken before the the tweet was quickly deleted. Our sources have refused to divulge the identity of the ABS-CBN reporter who accidentally posted the tweet, fearing that the mistake may affect the reporter’s job security. Maria Ressa is the head of ABS-CBN news, while Zen Hernandez is a field reporter for the same network.

Rolando Mendoza was a dismissed policeman who took a bus full of tourists hostage at gunpoint last Tuesday, seeking reinstatement. The aftermath of the crisis left eight dead and nine injured, with Philippine authorities facing widespread international and local condemnation over the botched rescue attempt.

At least one account of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis reported that “national television” coverage may have escalated the situation:

Tensions rose as relatives tried to prevent lawmen from arresting Gregorio [Rolando’s Brother] in front of national television.

This triggered the crisis that eventually forced Mendoza to carry out his threat and kill the remaining hostages.

Update: Maria Ressa responds: “Technograph blog false. Did not tweet that.” Her original tweet asserting this was deleted, but re-tweets exist on the twitter accounts of Jim Ayson and ANCALERTS. Unfortunately, we wrote that Maria Ressa reportedly said (not tweeted) “Fantastic!” in relation to the arrest of Gregorio Mendoza.