More hostages released from hijacked tourist bus

By Yahoo! Southeast Asia Editors August 23rd, 2010Email Facebook Twitter Prin
t
By Mynardo Macaraig, Agence France Presse
and Thea Alberto, Yahoo! Southeast Asia
(UPDATE 10) A disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an assault rifle hijacked a bu
s carrying more than 20 Hong Kong tourists including children in the Philippine
capital on Monday, police said.
The gunman boarded the bus in Manila s historic tourist district in the morning an
d then released nine people throughout the day as he demanded that he get his jo
b back and be allowed to speak to the media.
The Palace has ordered police to ensure the safety of foreigners who were taken
hostage by a former policeman.
We have asked the law enforcement agencies on the ground to put primary considera
tion to the lives and safety of the people involved, which are foreign tourists,
said Presidential Communications Operations Head, Secretary Herminio Coloma.
Coloma said the hostage taking need not alarm the international community becaus
e it is an isolated incident.
We just need to view this in perspective as an isolated incident and does not ref
lect the real situation of our country today, Coloma said.
Armed commandos were surrounding the vehicle as the hostage drama was aired live
on national television, with footage showing some of the hostages peering out t
hrough the windows.
The gunman, identified as former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza, 55, wa
s carrying an M-16 assault rifle, but no shooting was heard and there were no re
ports of any injuries among the hostages.
As negotiators were brought in to try to end the standoff, Mendoza wrote threate
ning messages on white paper which he stuck to the glass door of the bus.
Big deal will start after 3.00 pm (0700 GMT) today, one of the messages said, alth
ough police did not say what they thought he meant.
When that deadline expired six hours into the crisis with no major new developme
nt, the suspect posted a new sign that read media now and demanded that he be able
to speak with reporters on the scene.
Mendoza was honoured by police chiefs in 1986 as one of the top 10 officers in t
he country. But he was discharged in 2008 for his alleged involvement in drug-re
lated crimes and extortion, according to police.
He wants to be reinstated in the service, Manila district police chief Superintend
ent Rodolfo Magtibay said.
Another message Mendoza posted on the bus read: Big mistake for big wrong decisio
n , apparently in reference to his sacking.
Philippine authorities said 22 tourists from Hong Kong were originally on board
the bus, along with the local driver and two other Filipinos.
Seven of the tourists, including three children and an elderly man, as well two
Filipinos, were released in various stages throughout the day.
It was not immediately clear why they were released, but the police spokesman on
the scene, chief inspector Erwin Margarejo, said it showed the talks were havin
g results.
It is a sign that the negotiations resulted in something good, he said adding that
Mendoza s attitude was courteous .
Mendoza also allowed police to bring in food fried chicken and other meals from
a local fast food chain to the hostages.
Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, sai
d the tourists on the bus were aged between four and 72. They were on a three-da
y tour and were scheduled to return to Hong Kong late Monday.
We have never had anything like this before we are very much concerned, Tung said
in Hong Kong.
It was not clear whether Mendoza had released all the children on board, or whet
her there were still others being held hostage.
Television footage showed some of the adult hostages looking tensely out from be
hind the bus curtains, but showing no signs of being injured.
The bus was parked in front of a grandstand at Rizal Park, a popular tourist des
tination just a few blocks from police headquarters.
As the crisis dragged on, police called in Mendoza s brother, who is also a police
officer, to help in the negotiations.
Monday s bus hijack recalled a similar hostage-taking in 2007, when a troubled civ
il engineer armed with a grenade took over a bus and held 30 children but freed
them after a 10-hour standoff with police.
The 2007 drama took place near Manila city hall, just off Rizal Park.
Monday s hostage-taking came hours after a South Korean man was killed in a separa
te attack on a vehicle by gunmen elsewhere in Manila. Police said the incidents
were not related.