Bus of children held hostage in The Philippines

There is recent news of a busload of children headed for a field trip that has encountered a hijacking from the inside:

from the Yahoo AP article:

Quote:

MANILA, Philippines - A day-care center owner hijacked a busload of his students and teachers and drove them to Manila's city hall Wednesday to demand better housing and education for the children.

Jun Ducat and at least one other hostage-taker scribbled in large letters on a sheet of paper, taped to the bus' windshield, that they were holding 32 children and two teachers and were armed with two grenades, an assault rifle and a pistol, officer Mark Andal said.

One child with a fever was released after four hours, and then was driven away in an ambulance.

They said they were demanding improved housing and education for 145 children in a day-care center in Manila's poor Tondo district where the incident, televised live around the world, appeared to have begun. The driver was released soon afterward.

"I love these kids; that's why I am here," Ducat, identified by police and parents as the day-care center owner, told DZMM radio by cell phone. "We have a field trip. I invited the children for a field trip.

"You can be assured that I cannot hurt the children. In case I need to shed blood, I will not be the first to fire. I am telling the policemen, have pity on these children."

A standoff mounted as dozens of police surrounded the bus near Manila's city hall, and bomb squads and SWAT teams also were on the scene.

TV footage showed the young children, one in sunglasses, waving from the windows. A woman with her arm around a child could be seen making a hand signal asking for a phone as one of the gunmen held a grenade at her shoulder.

The woman reassuringly massaged the shoulders of one boy as she walked away from the front of the bus and the curtains were pulled shut. The children were allowed to wave again later, apparently to show they were OK, before the curtains were closed again.

Mothers of some hostages went on radio to tearfully appeal for their children's safety.

"We are asking him to free the children, to let our kids out," said Dema Arroyo, mother of 6-year-old hostage Angelica. "We will forgive him if he will free our children. We have no ill feelings toward him. He is a good person."

Ducat said he was asking in the children's interests.

"To the parents of the kids I am with ... I am asking for justice so they can have continued education up to college," Ducat said.

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral talked with Ducat and offered assurances that the children would get a good education.

There were no details released on the ages of the children but the ones that could be seen through the bus windows appeared to be in early grades or preschoolers.

About 2 1/2 hours after the standoff began, Sen. Bong Revilla, who said he knows Ducat, was allowed to board the bus for negotiations.

Revilla emerged 45 minutes later and reported that the children were in good shape. He said Ducat was holding a grenade with the pin pulled out, and that his hands were shaking.

The engine of the purple-and-gray bus continued to run, providing air conditioning as midday temperatures reached 93 degrees. Ice cream was being brought for the hostages, Revilla said.

A police officer, standing about 15 yards away, held up a cardboard sign offering a telephone land line as another officer held up the handset. A third officer used a bullhorn.

Ducat, who claimed to have food for two days, refused to take the phone, saying he was afraid it would explode.

Ducat was involved in a 1989 hostage-taking with two priests in which he used fake grenades, but the priests did not press charges in what was described as a contract dispute.

In 1998, he climbed to the top of a tower to protest against the candidacy of a politician who he said was not a real Filipino citizen.

He was disqualified as a congressional candidate in 2001. It was not immediately clear why, but he was well known to local officials.

"I know him as a very, very passionate individual who has his own kind of thinking on the solutions to our problems," Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said. "But we cannot agree with his ways."

I really hope this situation will turn alright.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I don't think I'll be sleeping till this is resolved, for better or for worse.

It doesn't bother me so much that this is happening quite frankly, what does bother me is who it involves. Innocent children, who've done no wrong, and young ones at that.

I praise the cause, however it's easily the worst of bad methods of going about getting things done. Using kids like that is just not right whatsoever, no matter what the reasoning.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Same here.

Manila is really fucked-up sometimes. Now that the national situation is getting desperate, shit really hits the fan hard.

My hopes to these children being safe; but having lived there for 16 years and seeing young kids die as well, I can just pray that these hostages are safe and their oppressors merciful.

Now makes me wonder if I should go back home.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Wow, this is awesome. They kidnap a bus full of kids to help other kids. I like that.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I'm also hoping that this shit won't end up like what happened in Beslan in 2004.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Doubtful. Dude's a crackpot, as the article has pointed out.

Where are those snipers when we need them

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, let's snipe someone who's holding a grenade that will go off if he lets go. Really good idea Zergrinch. Nice try though in quickly resolving things, but just tooo risky.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Terminus

I'm also hoping that this shit won't end up like what happened in Beslan in 2004.

Doubtful, I think Philippinean (?) military is not as retarded as Russian military

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I just saw that on the news a minute ago as "breaking news". That guy obviously has some screws lose. I mean...:

Quote:

Ducat was involved in a 1989 hostage-taking with two priests in which he used fake grenades

If that doesn't scream "Crazy!", then I don't know what does.

Hope it turns out alright for the kids and (sane) teachers.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Musharraf

Doubtful, I think Philippinean (?) military is not as retarded as Russian military

Not to mention the two situations have not much in common.

Most amazing jew boots

All's well that ends well, I suppose. Hope this doesn't have a lasting psychological impact on the children.

Granted, my proposed sniper solution would have more severe psychiatric ramifications :P (I really thought that guy's grenade is fake, Quby)

Most amazing jew boots

The larger question in all this is how does a man who held priests hostage with grenades end up owning a daycare?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

They were fake, the priests were forgiving, we forget easily, and anything is possible in the Philippines

I was speaking idiomatically.

Poor kids.
I can try to understand his intentions, but it's clearly against the law even if he had good intentions, and it's still rather selfish to deny the parents their children over the kids' "better education". I honestly wonder how this will turn out.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Umm, is he still in control, did he exchange some of the hostages for drugs or what is going on

FELIPE NO

It's over as of yesterday, 7 PM local time (GMT+8). Everyone fine. Dude is facing 32 counts of illegal detention, with each count worth 12 years of jail time.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

What, you guys don't have death penalty anymore??

Jam it back in, in the dark.

We do, but it's suspended. The Catholic lobby being as strong as it is!

And even then, it's reserved only for heinous crimes such as rape, mass murder, kidnapping for ransom, and economic plunder.

Most amazing jew boots

That's quite weak, dude!

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Says the dude whose bleeding heart country and economic federation bans capital punishment for any kind of offense!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

PHILIPPINES ROCKS!!

I bet this will be a huge boost in our tourism ratings!

I was speaking idiomatically.