Manila: A disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an automatic rifle was holding hostage 17 people, including tourists from Hong Kong, on a bus in downtown Manila on Monday, and said a “big deal” would start after 0700 GMT (3 am EDT).
A Manila police spokesman said he expected the hostages would be released at that time, adding that the gunman, identified as Rolando Mendoza, was cooperating.
“I am optimistic that maybe by 3 o’ clock he will release all the hostages,” Chief Superintendent Erwin Margarejo told reporters.
Mendoza, armed with an M-16 rifle and small arms, had so far released eight hostages: two men, three women and three children, police said. He asked for food for those remaining on the bus, which was delivered, and fuel to keep the air-conditioning going.
A handwritten note, signed by Mendoza, saying “BIG DEAL WILL START AFTER 3 PM TODAY” was stuck to the door of the bus. A sign stuck to a window said “3PM TODAY DEAD LOCK.”
Also stuck to the bus door was a piece of paper with the handwritten message: “BIG MISTAKE TO CORRECT A BIG WRONG DECISION.” A larger piece of paper on the front windshield was headed “RELEASE FINAL DECISION” and then what appeared to be details of his case.
Police spokesman Margarejo said that the use of force would be a last resort.
Mendoza’s brother said his brother was upset by his treatment and dismissal from the force.
“His problem was he was unjustly removed from service. There was no due process, no hearing, no complaint,” senior police officer Gregorio Mendoza told ANC television.
Police had established a landline connection with the bus, which was stopped across the eight-lane park road in front of the Quirino grandstand, where President Benigno Aquino III had taken his oath of office on June 30.
The road was cordoned off, with the bus isolated inside the park. Nearby construction work was halted. A sizeable crowd has gathered. Several ambulances and a fire engine were on standby about 500 meters away, behind the police line.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee told reporters authorities were very concerned about the incident. Two officials were being sent to Manila and a hotline was being set up in Hong Kong for families of the hostages.
“The information we’ve received so far is that no one is injured,” Lee said in Hong Kong.
He said he hoped the incident would be peaceful resolved and the hostages were released “safely and as quickly as possible”.