Police Chief Orders Probe On Bloody Manila Hostage-Drama

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 25, 2010) – The Philippine police said it is investigating what went wrong to the bloody end to the hostage-draw in Manila that left 8 Hong Kong nationals dead and several more wounded, two of them seriously.

A former police captain, Rolando Mendoza, who was accused of robbery and extortion, took a tourist bus and held its two dozen passengers, mostly Hong Kong holidaymakers, hostage on Monday morning near the Quirino Grandstand.
He then demanded a government review of all charges against him, saying, he was innocent.

Nine of the Chinese hostages had been freed, but the rest were shot either by Mendoza or police commandos who assaulted the bus. The hostage-taker was eventually killed in the assault later in the night.

Earlier in the night, policemen arrested a brother of the hostage-taker, Gregorio Mendoza, after he was accused of instigating and agitating, instead of convincing the armed man to surrender peacefully, according to Director Leocadio Santiago, chief of police forces in the National Capital Region.

The arrest of Mendoza’s elder brother may have prompted him to shoot the hostages. Mendoza’s brother told reporters that policemen would kill him after accusing him of conspiring with the hostage-taker, an accusation he vehemently denied.

Moments after the arrest of the hostage-taker’s brother, several shots rang inside the bus. Mendoza’s brother and wife were in the area to convince him to surrender peacefully.

“The outcome of the hostage taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand is indeed very unfortunate that should warrant a thorough investigation. It saddened me deeply that lives were lost in the process. Indeed no words can assuage the trauma and grief that the victims and their families are now experiencing.”

“We will continue to work closely with other government agencies to make sure the victims and their families get the necessary services that they need while still in our country,” said Jesus Verzosa, the police chief.

“In the meantime, we will hold passing any judgment on what went wrong or what went right until we receive the final report from a team of experts who will look into all circumstances surrounding the hostage taking incident,” he added.

Media reports on Wednesday said several commandos who participated in the bungled assault had been suspended pending the outcome of the investigations. (Mindanao Examiner)

Police name 161 suspects in Maguindanao massacre

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 9, 2009) – Philippine police on Wednesday said at least 161 people took part in the brutal slaying of dozens of journalists and election campaigners in last month’s attack on a political caravan in Maguindanao province.

Police chief Jesus Verzosa said they have identified most of the suspects, including a number of soldiers, policemen and government militias under the control of the powerful Ampatuan clan.

“We have so far identified 161 suspects, who directly participated in the gruesome massacre,” he said at press conference in Manila.

Verzosa also showed photographs of all those tagged as behind the November 23 mass murders and gory pictures of the victims who were shot in the head and chest.

He said the mayor of Datu Unsay town, Andal Ampatuan Jnr, was tagged as the mastermind in the killings, while his father Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Snr, and brothers Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, and Anwar Ampatuan, the mayor of Shariff Aguak, and Sajid Ampatuan and other clan members are also implicated in the murders.

Many of those killed, he said, were shot at close range, and those that were still alive had been shot and finished off by Ampatuan Jnr.

The mayor surrendered three days after the massacre and is facing multiple counts of murder charges; and the others had been arrested after President Gloria Arroyo put Maguindanao under martial law. The Ampatuans denied all the charges against them.

Hundreds of light artillery and heavy infantry weapons and close to half a million rounds of ammunition were also unearthed in the Ampatuan stronghold of Shariff Aguak town and were believed owned by the powerful political clan.
The head of the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights, also said that the Ampatuan clan could be behind extrajudicial killings of as many as 200 people in Maguindanao.

The country’s largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, previously accused the clan as behind the murders of many innocent civilians, mostly farmers in Maguindanao whose rice lands had been illegally grabbed by the Ampatuans. The accusations could not be immediately confirmed. (Mindanao Examiner)

Talks continue for release of Red Cross hostages in the Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 15, 2009) – Government negotiations continue Wednesday for the safe release of two foreign Red Cross workers being held by Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists in the southern Filipino province of Sulu.

Provincial governor Dr. Sakur Tan said Muslim clerics are now helping in efforts to convince the terrorists to free Swiss national Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni who were seized January 15 along with Filipino aid worker Mary Jean Lacaba.

The woman was released on April 2 after a series of negotiations.

“The Ulama are helping us negotiate for the safe release of the two hostages. Everybody wants an end to this hostage crisis,” Tan told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Sulu. He did not elaborate.

Philippine police chief Jesus Verzosa and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno also arrived in Sulu on Wednesday and met with Tan to discuss the progress of the negotiations, said Sonny Abing III, the provincial government spokesman.

“They discussed efforts to free the hostages and other important matters,” Abing said in a separate phone interview.

Puno said the Italian hostage is ill and suffering from hernia. Hernia is a general term used to describe a bulge or protrusion of an organ through the structure or muscle that usually contains it.

“I have asked Governor Sakur Tan is we can send a doctor to examiner Eugenio Vagni,” he told reporters in Zamboanga City.

Puno said security forces would not pull out troops from Indanan town unless the Abu Sayyaf is to free the hostages. “We will not pull out the troops unless it is connected to the release of the hostages in a certain area,” he said.

More policemen were sent to Sulu to help secure the area where the hostages are being held captive.

Police said it wanted to end the hostage crisis peacefully soon. “We are exerting all efforts to help in peacefully resolving this crisis,” Verzosa said.

The Abu Sayyaf has repeatedly threatened to kill the remaining hostages if the military and police do not pull out from several areas in Sulu. Security forces have surrounded the jungle lair of the Abu Sayyaf in the town of Indanan to prevent the terrorists from escaping with their captives.

Hundreds of armed village guards under the supervision of the police and the local mayors also put up a cordon around the Abu Sayyaf stronghold.

Military and police intelligence reports said several Jemaah Islamiya terrorists are among those holding the aid workers - Mauiya, Dulmatin, Zulkifli bin Hir and Umar Patek - who are all wanted by Indonesia for the spate of deadly attacks, including the Bali bombing in 2002. The US has offered at least $16 million rewards for their capture. (Mindanao Examiner)