Philippines Hostage Crisis Ends
A hostage crisis in the Philippine capital city of manila, ended on Monday night, with four captives emerging from a bus alive and the gunman believed to have been killed, according to footage broadcast on television. Fifteen tourists from Hong Kong were believed to have been on the bus at the end of the 12-hour ordeal, and there were fears for the lives of the others who did not get off the bus immediately afterwards. The body of the man believed to be the gunman, an ex-policeman who hijacked the bus in a desperate bid to get his job back, was seen slumped out of the main door of the vehicle. Multiple gunshots were heard moments before the heavily-armed police approached the bus, parked in Manila’s historic tourist district. Ten minutes after the police approached the bus, they still could not get inside. There were no clear signs of movement from within the bus.
An ex-policeman armed with an M-16 assault rifle took the people on board the bus hostage on Monday in a desperate bid to get his job back. The Filipino driver of the bus jumped out of a window and escaped just before police approached, with the scenes aired live on television. The gunman, who took control of the bus almost 10 hours ago, said he had shot two of his captives and would kill the others if police did not meet his demands. As negotiators were brought in to try to end the standoff, Mendoza wrote threatening 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, although police did not say what they thought he meant. When that deadline expired six hours into the crisis with no major new development, the suspect posted a new sign that read “media now” and demanded that he be able to speak with reporters on the scene. “I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if they do not stop,” former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza told the Radio Mindanao Network before police moved in on the vehicle and smashed its windows. Mendoza was honoured by police chiefs in 1986 as one of the top 10 officers in the country. But he was discharged in 2008 for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion, according to police. “He wants to be reinstated in the service,” Manila district police chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay said. Another message Mendoza posted on the bus read: “Big mistake for big wrong decision”, 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.
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