JERRIE M. ABELLA, GMANews.TV
08/23/2010 | 10:06 PM
The hostage crisis in Manila ended in a bloody carnage Monday night, after a SWAT team assaulted a tourist bus full of mostly Chinese nationals, resulting in the death of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza, a disgruntled former Manila police officer, and at least four hostages.
The police attacked shortly before 8:30 p.m. after Mendoza was heard firing his gun from inside the bus. Bus driver Alberto Lubang, 38, had escaped minutes before the attack and told police that hostages had already been killed.
Policemen spent several minutes trying to enter through the doors and windows, using sledgehammers. They threw tear gas inside the bus before forcing open the emergency exit in the back. By that time, Mendoza was dead, and so were apparently some of the hostages.
Mendoza was confirmed dead after a shot in head from a police sniper. The hostage taker was armed with an M-16.
Four hostages were confirmed dead, according to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo told reporters that at least six of the hostages were confirmed alive. The fate of the other hostages, meanwhile, was unknown as of posting time.
One of the survivors - a Chinese national currently being treated at the Ospital ng Maynila (OM) - narrated that Mendoza started randomly firing at the hostages at around 8 p.m. She said her husband, who was among the fatalities, used his body to shield her from the spray of bullets.
This resulted in the hostages sustaining gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies.
She appealed to authorities to bring to OM her three young children, who might have been taken to another hospital.
The four hostages in OM are now stable, according to a report by Mariz Umali, and said they just wanted to go back to their hotels to be able to rest.
Mendoza was fired from his post as chief of the Manila Police's Mobile Patrol Unit in 2008 after he was charged with robbery and extortion, or the so-called hulidap practice of some police of planting evidence and seeking a pay-off from the victims.
Mendoza claimed he was innocent and appealed to be reinstated. His sympathetic brother and fellow policeman, SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza, told reporters his kuya had grown tired of waiting for justice.
He hijacked the bus at around 10 a.m. after hitching a ride just as the tourists were moving from Fort Santiago to Manila Ocean Park. The bus stopped in front of the Quirino Grandstand, the festive site of President Noynoy Aquino's inauguration last June 30.
That was where Mendoza posted hand-written messages on the bus windows, including "Big deal will start after 3 p.m. today." Police negotiators tried in vain to convince him to surrender.
Presidential spokesman Lacierda told Palace reporters two hours after the assault that President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was "meeting with the police, the DILG officials, and [Manila] Mayor [Alfredo] Lim. As of now, four hostages has been confirmed dead, one in critical condition. We will be issuing a statement later tonight."
Of the six hostages taken to Ospital ng Maynila, two were declared dead after sustaining several gunshot wounds in different parts of the body. —With Jam Sisante/KBK/VS, HS, GMANews.TV
Hostage-taker killed as crisis ends
Interior chief ‘very sorry’
By DJ Yap, Marlon Ramos, Jeannette Andrade, Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:52:00 08/23/2010
Filed Under: Police, hostage taking, Security (general)
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 6) It’s over. The hostage crisis that gripped the world for at least 10 hours Monday ended with at least three people killed, including the hostage-taker, and 17 survivors, according to reports culled by INQUIRER.net.
The body of dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza was recovered inside the tourist bus that he took over in Manila about 9 a.m. He was taken to Ospital ng Maynila. Also taken to the same hospital were seven of the hostages, five of who are alive and two dead.
Five – one in critical condition and one dead – are at the Manila Doctors’ Hospital while one confirmed dead is at San Juan De Dios.
Mendoza who was charged with drug-related offenses, took over the bus with 22 Chinese nationals and three Filipinos and demanded his reinstatement into the force.
Aside from Mendoza, two of the hostages were also killed although Metro Manila Police Director Leocadio Santiago in an interview with CNN refused to confirm this.
Santiago said there were 17 survivors – nine having been released by Mendoza earlier on Monday and eight walking off after the police had secured the bus.
Reporters at the scene saw five hostages come out alive, one was unconscious and three were dead, including Mendoza.
In a separate press interview, Superintendent Nelson Yabut who was part of the 30-man assault team said they were initially unable to enter the bus because Mendoza had the hostages lined-up and leaning on the bus windows.
“He [Mendoza] used them as a shield,” Yabut told reporters. He added that they also had to pull back during the downpour.
Yabut said Mendoza was standing at the back of the bus and ran towards the front after seeing members if the assault team trying to enter through the rear.
“Parang tatakas [It looked like he was attempting to escape],” Yabut added.
A sniper opened fire at Mendoza who was hit on the right temple, Yabut said.
Before this, Yabut said Mendoza also fired back at the assault team and hit a policeman on the head although he survived the attack.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo went to the crime scene but withheld judgment on how the hostage crisis was handled and resolved.
"The government is very sorry that the hostage-taking ended like this," Robredo said. He said the government has been "communicating with the representatives of the Chinese government" on the hostage crisis.
Robredo said President Benigno Aquino III was constantly apprised of the situation.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President has met with police, officials from the Department of Interior and Local Government, and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.
The law enforcers broke the windows and tried to enter the door of the stalled bus but were stopped by gunshots coming from inside the bus, GMA Network footage showed.
Bursts of gunfire were heard from inside as lawmen went to the backdoor to force it open in the hope of seizing Mendoza and rescuing his hostages.
A bystander, identified as a 10-year-old boy, was hurt following the gunshots and was brought to the hospital for treatment, according to the television report.
A police car moved closer while members of the raiding team continued to break into the back of the vehicle, video showed.
Ambulances also surrounded the bus.
Earlier on Monday, the bus driver, identified as Alberto Lubang, 38, was able to escape despite being handcuffed to the wheel. He told police that some of the hostages were killed by Mendoza.
In an interview, Aida Beltejar of the Philippine National Red Cross said Lubang told her that some of the passengers were killed but did not give an exact number.
She added that Lubang was in a state of trauma and became partly deaf due to the loud gunshot sounds.
Quoting Lubang, Beltejar said that the driver pleaded several times for Mendoza to free him, adding the policeman acceded because he was Filipino.
Mendoza was thought to have fired warning shots anew as he saw his brother, Senior Police Officer 2 Gregorio Mendoza and a young man said to be Rolando’s son, being hauled away by police.
Superintendent Ike Gutierrez of the Manila police said SPO2 Mendoza was arrested for bringing a gun to the hostage scene without coordinating with the police.
At past 6 p.m., a single gunshot was heard coming from the bus. Reporters on the scene learned that Mendoza fired a warning shot after rejecting a letter from the Office of the Ombudsman that informed him that he could not be reinstated but nonetheless assured him that his case would be reviewed.
The letter was delivered to on site by Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno who met with officials of the Office of the Ombudsman earlier Monday.
Moreno revealed in a telephone interview aired over the ABS-CBN News Channel that the contents of the Ombudsman’s letter could help clear up things on the status of the appeal he filed regarding his dismissal from the service.
"Kung ako sa kanya, pag nakita ko ang sulat na ito ay magliliwanag ang kaisipan ko (If I were him, I would surely be enlightened after reading this letter)," Moreno said but refused to reveal the contents of the letter.
Mendoza released nine hostages, leaving behind at least 17 others.
Eight of the nine freed hostages were identified as, photographer Danilo Medril, 64, tour guide Rigor Cruz, 73-year-old Lee See Que (Lee See Kyu in some reports), Tsang Yee Lai, 40, and her children Fu Chang Yin, 4, Fu Chak Yin, 10, and family friend Wong Ching Nat, 12, Diana Chan. A woman who was also released at around 10:30 a.m. was not identified.
A national police statement said at least 22 tourists from Hong Kong were on board the bus. The statement said that, aside from the driver, they were believed to be the only people aboard the bus. Earlier reports said that aside from the 22 Chinese nationals, three Filipinos were on board the bus.
Broadcaster Erwin Tulfo arrived at the Quirino Grandstand at around 3:45 p.m. on Monday to help in negotiations.
Tulfo entered the cordoned area after Mendoza posted another message on the bus that said, "Media now."
Tulfo was briefed by the police about the situation.
Mendoza posted the "Media now" message some 30 minutes after 3 p.m., the hour by which police negotiators and media were expecting something to happen following a message from Mendoza that stated "Big deal will start after 3 p.m. today."
Earlier in the day, Mendoza posted the message: "Big mistake to correct a big wrong decision.
It was not clear what the armalite-wielding hostage-taker exactly meant by these messages, as police negotiators continued to work to convince Mendoza to let the hostages go.
Negotiators had hooked up a phone line to the bus to facilitate negotiations with Mendoza.
As of late Monday afternoon, the bus’ gasoline supply had been replenished at least two times.
Superintendent Orlando Yebra and Chief Inspector Romeo Salvador took the lead in the negotiations with the hostage-taker.
Background information obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Mendoza showed he has been facing charges for manhandling a suspect before the Office of the Ombudsman.
According to records in Camp Crame, Mendoza was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman early in January together with four other policemen
Mendoza was relieved from his post as chief of the Mobile Patrol Unit in 2008 for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion, and was demanding to be reinstated, police said.
Mendoza, who has reaped awards for his work in the police service, was protesting his dismissal early this year for allegedly forcing a hotel chef to swallow shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and for allegedly attempting to extort P20,000 from him during interrogation. Mendoza has denied the charges and has filed an appeal with the Ombudsman.
Negotiators have hooked up a phone line to the bus to facilitate negotiations with Mendoza who wanted to be reinstated into the police service.
Superintendent Orlando Yebra and Chief Inspector Romeo Salvador took the lead in the negotiations.
Mendoza passed messages to police negotiators through pieces of paper he posted on the windshield and doors of the bus that was parked in front of a grandstand at Rizal Park, a popular tourist destination just several blocks from the police headquarters.
The hostage-taking came hours after a South Korean man was killed in a separate attack by gunmen elsewhere in Manila. Police said the incidents were not related.
Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said that the bus was operated by a Hong Thai, a Hong Kong-based travel agency.
The national police statement confirming the tourists were from Hong Kong corrected earlier statements by police that they were South Koreans.
The incident brought back memories of a similar hostage taking in 2007, when a troubled civil engineer armed with a grenade took over a bus and took hostage 30 kindergarten students but freed them after a 10-hour standoff with police. Maila Ager, INQUIRER.net; Alcuin Papa, Cathy Yamsuan, Philippine Daily Inquirer; Agence France-Presse
7 Hong Kong tourists killed in hostage crisis
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:41:00 08/23/2010
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 2) At least seven Hong Kong tourists were killed during a dramatic hostage siege in Manila on Monday, doctors said.
The toll was confirmed by the Hong Kong government.
Four of the bodies were taken to the Manila Doctor's Hospital, where a fifth victim was alive but in critical condition, said Faith Gaerlan, the facility's emergency medicine chief.
"Four are confirmed dead. One is in a critical condition," Gaerlan told AFP.
Two other hospitals also reported having received three dead victims, according to their emergency medical staff.
Metropolitan Manila police chief Director Leocadio Santiago said police could not immediately give an exact figure for the casualties and those who survived.
A total of 22 Hong Kong tourists and three Filipinos were aboard the tourist bus when sacked police senior inspector Rolando Mendoza seized the vehicle early Monday, demanding that he be reinstated.
He released nine people during police negotiations, including two Filipinos.
The remaining Filipino, the bus driver, escaped when Mendoza began shooting at the hostages by nightfall, forcing police to launch an assault in a bid to free the 15 hostages still on the bus.
Hong Kong issues 'black' travel alert for Philippines
Agence France-Presse First Posted 23:38:00 08/23/2010
HONG KONG—Hong Kong issued its top-level black travel alert for the Philippines on Monday after at least five Hong Kong tourists were killed in Manila in a bus hijack by an armed ex-policeman.
"A serious kidnap incident happened in the Philippines. Hong Kong residents should avoid all travel to the country," a government spokesman said in a statement.
"Those who are already there should attend to their personal safety and exercise caution."
At least five of the hostages have been killed while four walked free after their 12-hour ordeal, police and doctors in Manila said, but the fate of another seven remains unclear.
Dismissed cop hijacks busload of tourists
By Mynardo Macaraig, Jeannette Andrade
Agence France-Presse, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 11:09:00 08/23/2010
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 4) A dismissed police captain on Monday took hostage a busload of Hong Kong (not Koreans as earlier reported) tourists at the Quirino grandstand.
The armalite-wielding Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza is holding some 25 people aboard a Hong Thai travel bus with plate number TUU-799.
Mendoza has posted a message on a piece of paper for the world to see: "Big mistake to correct a big wrong decision."
It was not clear what he exactly meant by this, as police negotiators continued to work to convince Mendoza to let the hostages go.
Negotiators have hooked up a phone line to the bus to facilitate negotiations with Mendoza.
As of noon, a gallon of gasoline was seen being loaded into the air-conditioned tourist bus Hong-Thai, in which 22 Chinese nationals from Hong Kong and three Filipinos were held.
Earlier, Mendoza released two women (who had asked to be allowed to go to the comfort room) and a woman, her two daughters, and her son into the care of Superintendent Orlando Yebra, one of those leading the negotiations.
Yebra and Chief Inspector Romeo Salvador have taken the lead in the negotiations with the hostage taker.
"We have never had anything like this before. We are very much concerned," said Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. "We hope the tour members will be released as soon as possible."
He said there had been 20 passengers on the bus, aged four to 72, plus a Hong Kong escort and local guide leading the three-day tour, when it was seized. The tour group was scheduled to return to Hong Kong late Monday.
Tung said the council, which represents Hong Kong's travel sector, had not been told of any ransom demands for the hostages' release.
"We have heard nothing like that so far," he said.
Hong Thai travel agency, which ran the tour, could not be immediately reached for comment.
About three hours after the stand-off began, the ex-policeman released seven people.
Live television footage showed the bus parked in front of a grandstand at Rizal Park, a popular tourist destination just a few blocks from the police headquarters.
The suspect has been identified as Rolando Mendoza, a decorated former police senior inspector before he was accused and relieved of his post.
Background information obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Mendoza shows he has been facing charges for manhandling a suspect before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Mendoza has been passing messages to police negotiators through pieces of paper.
National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz said the bus had been isolated and police had deployed commandos in the area, adding that talks with the gunman had begun.
"Negotiations are ongoing," Cruz told reporters.
The hostage-taking came hours after a South Korean man was killed in a separate attack on a vehicle by gunmen elsewhere in Manila. Two of his companions were seized at gunpoint but later released.
The motive for the attack was not clear, although kidnap-for-ransom gangs often target foreign tourists and businessmen in areas near Manila and in the provinces.
Police said the incidents were not related.
Monday's bus hijack recalled a similar hostage-taking in 2007, when a troubled civil 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.
With reports from Karen Boncocan, INQUIRER.net
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