Reuters AlertNet Lite - Probe into Manila hostage drama, was it a gimmick?

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Probe into Manila hostage drama, was it a gimmick?

29 Mar 2007 02:16:09 GMT
Source: Reuters

MANILA, March 29 (Reuters) - Gunmen who held Philippine children and teachers for over nine hours in a bus had dud grenades and authorities are investigating whether the hostage crisis was a political gimmick, officials said on Thursday.

Two men armed with grenades, an Uzi submachine gun and a revolver held 26 children and three teachers from a day care centre in a bus parked outside Manila City Hall on Wednesday, drawing a blaze of publicity.

A radio station quoted officials at the local police Explosives and Ordnance Division as saying the grenades were real but had no detonating mechanism. There was no immediate word on the other weapons used in the hostage-taking.

"From the very start we looked at the possibility of political motivation," Manila Mayor Jose Atienza told the radio station. "The campaign season is peaking. This could be part of a political exercise of some people, and we discussed the matter."

One of the gunmen, Jun Ducat, contested elections to the House of Representatives in 2001, but was unsuccessful. Congressional elections this year are to be held in May.

"Was Ducat acting alone or is a political figure behind him? We have to look at that angle also," Atienza said.

Virtually all of Manila came to a standstill as television broadcast live pictures of the crisis. The images were also broadcast live around the world on international news channels.

Ducat issued a statement decrying corruption in the Philippines and demanding better education for the poor and his speech was carried live on radio and television networks.

Many of his comments were seen as directly aimed at Atienza and the city administration.

The hostages were later released unharmed and the children were sent home after checks at hospital.

A senator and a governor who is running for the Senate in May elections were among the negotiators and were seen on television escorting the hostage-takers out of the bus.

Police said Ducat and his accomplice were in custody and would be charged with kidnapping, illegal detention and illegal possession of weapons.

Police spokesman Cipriano Querol said none of the children's parents had yet to lodge a complaint against Ducat.

Ducat had started the day care centre which the children attended and is a popular figure in the Tondo district where it is located. Some parents said on Wednesday that they were sure the children would come to no harm, and sympathised with his sentiments.

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Last updated:Thu Mar 29 02:23:14 2007