9 killed on hijacked Philippine tourist bus

[scotty's girl 1]

(UPDATE 20) A dramatic hostage siege in the Philippine capital involving a busload of Hong Kong tourists ended after 12 hours on Monday with several captives walking free.

The gunman, a disgruntled ex-policeman, was killed in the final moments of the crisis in the heart of Manila, which was played out live on television screens around the globe.

Malacanang said at least four people were confirmed dead and one is in critical condition after the day-long hostage crisis.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also told reporters President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III might issue a statement in the next few hours.

“The President had been meeting with the police, the DILG officials and Mayor Lim,” said Lacierda.

The body of the gunman, a highly decorated former police inspector 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 heavily-armed police moved in on the bus near a park in Manila’s historic tourist district just after nightfall.

The gunman, former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza, said just ahead of the police assault that he had shot two of his captives and would kill the others if police did not move back.

“I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if they do not stop,” he told the Radio Mindanao Network about 10 hours in to the hostage drama.

“I can see a lot of SWAT (special weapons and tactics police) coming in. I know they will kill me. They should all leave because anytime I will do the same here.”

Police were unable to get inside the bus for more than an hour after negotiations broke down and they decided to storm it.

They encircled the bus, smashed its windows and fired at it, but Mendoza held them off by shooting back.

The crisis eventually ended when police threw tear gas inside the bus, and fired again.

The hostage drama began when Mendoza boarded the bus in Manila’s tourist district on Monday morning. He wanted to clear his name after being discharged for extortion in 2008, and called on authorities to review his case.

Philippine authorities said 22 tourists from Hong Kong were originally on the bus, including children, as well as the local driver and two other Filipinos.

Seven of the tourists, including three children and an elderly man, as well two Filipinos, were released at various times throughout the day.

The Filipino driver jumped out of a window and escaped just before police stormed the bus.

Mendoza, 55, 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 early in the day.

Mendoza had posted a series of written messages on the windows of the bus, one of which read: “Big mistake for big wrong decision”, apparently in reference to his sacking.

Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the tourists on the bus were aged between four and 72.

They were on a three-day tour with Hong Thai Travel and were scheduled to return to Hong Kong late Monday.

The bus was parked in front of a grandstand at Rizal Park, a popular tourist destination just a few blocks from police headquarters.

Before the crisis ended, China’s foreign ministry urged Philippine authorities to ensure the Hong Kong tourists were rescued safely.

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.

The Malacanang Palace has ordered police to ensure the safety of foreigners who were taken hostage by the former policeman.

“We have asked the law enforcement agencies on the ground to put primary consideration 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 because it is an isolated incident.

“We just need to view this in perspective as an isolated incident and does not reflect the real situation of our country today,” Coloma said.

[Ban Hammer 12,890]

just read about that on yahoo.

[BB & MJ 3]

Called my fiancee there and she told me that was the only news playing the entire day. Crazy story.

[scotty's girl 1]

Just read a breaking news, and there are now 8 confirmed dead

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Suspect is among the dead after a 12-hour hostage standoff. At least seven survive

By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press

A 12-hour hostage drama aboard a hijacked Philippine bus ended in bloodshed Monday when an angry ex-policeman demanding his job back gunned down eight Hong Kong tourists before police stormed the vehicle and a sniper killed him.

At least seven captives survived, four of whom were seen crawling out the back door of the bus after Philippine police stormed it Monday evening when the hostage-taker started shooting at the 15 Chinese tourists inside, said police Senior Superintendent Nelson Yabut.

He said the hostage-taker was killed with a sniper shot to the head after he wounded a police sharpshooter.

Police and ambulances were lined up next to the vehicle in the pouring rain after the standoff ended. Local hospitals reported seven bodies of hostages were brought in. One other hostage was hospitalized in critical condition, and five others were unharmed.

Two of the surviving hostages were wounded in serious condition and the remaining five are under observation, Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang told reporters in the Chinese territory as he expressed shock and anger at the police response.

The bloodshed rattled the Philippines and raised questions about police ability to deal with hostage-takings.

"How can I be satisfied when there were people who died?" Philippine President Benigno Aquino III told reporters late Monday. But he said the situation deteriorated rapidly from the time the hostage-taker initially showed willingness to release his hostages.

Hong Kong issued a warning against travel to the Philippines and requested that Hong Kong tourists still in the country return. All upcoming tour groups were also canceled.

"I am very saddened by this tragedy. I am angered by the cold-blooded behavior of this murderer," said Tsang, the Hong Kong leader.

The crisis began when the dismissed policeman, Rolando Mendoza, 55, armed with a M16 rifle seized the busload of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force.

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[marklovetina 52]

yeah it was happened here in the Phil. yesterday.. very sad story coz there are chinese national dead on the hostage drama... there's a chinese national shot on the head, chest and have cut on her neck... capt. mendoza was an outstanding police officer of the Phil. but according to the psychiatrist capt. mendoza was already out of his mind when he did this... he is depressed and his mind was trigger and got angry when his bro. was also arrested by the police....

[o0pink0o 3]

I saw this news on TV this morning. This is sad

[alienlovechild 75]

I feel sorry of what happened in Manila and my heart goes to the families of the victims. The hostage crisis reflects the plain incompetence that resulted from corruption and greed.

[Ban Hammer 12,890]

duplicate topics merged

[SuperDuper! 230]

So Hong Kong put the Phils on the black list for traveling. Does anyone know if International flights from Hong Kong to Phils are being banned? HK is a major hub to the Phils!

RIP to those tourists.

Warning to others: Don't travel in big touristy groups or big buses that make it clear you are with a group of tourists.

I'm putting Canadian Maple leaves on my luggage and backpack next trip.

Ain't nobody don't like them Canucks!

[thekfc 26]

So Hong Kong put the Phils on the black list for traveling. Does anyone know if International flights from Hong Kong to Phils are being banned? HK is a major hub to the Phils!

RIP to those tourists.

Warning to others: Don't travel in big touristy groups or big buses that make it clear you are with a group of tourists.

I'm putting Canadian Maple leaves on my luggage and backpack next trip.

Ain't nobody don't like them Canucks!

There are still flights from HK to The Philippines & vice versa. The alert is for HK Nationals/Citizens to avoid any travel to The Philippines.

[RafnJen 1]

I'm a Manila resident and was glued to the internet/TV as the final assault occurred. I'm not in Law Enforcement, but to me the entire operation seemed to have been bungled from start to finish, none more so than the final assault. One, from the moment the "go" signal was given due to reports of shots fired/the escaped driver stating that the gunman opened fire to when the gunman was killed and the bus cleared was over an hour! Two, look at this picture taken of the "SWAT team" assaulting the bus.

I count 7 cops. One's not wearing a vest. Only 3 are wearing Kevlar helmets. And all of them are wearing the Blue PNP duty uniform. It's seems they just cobbled together an assault unit from cops on scene instead of calling in a dedicated SWAT/Special Action Force unit. This is inexcusable as the standoff lasted from morning until night.

And if the PNP didn't have the men/equipment to form an assault unit, why didn't they call in the AFP with their special ops units? (Scout Rangers, Special Forces, Navy SWAG, Light Reaction Unit, Marine Recon, etc) The AFP definitely has hostage rescue experience. Remember the Burnhams and the Dos Palmas kidnapping (although the husband did die in the raid)

Anyways, I've seen lots of criticism, including one from the former commander of France's GIGN antiterrorist unit.

While I've lost whatever faith I've had in the PNP (not much to begin with), I hope this will be the government's 1972 Munich moment. The Germans learned from their mistakes, including setting up GSG-9. While I won't hold my breath, I hope the gov't learns from this tragedy.