this actually made it to the morning news here in CALI on channel 2.

discuss

should this guy actions be held as heroeism?

or should he be held as heroe?

so many freaks.


so few comets.

KSP !

Notes from a hostage-taking


By DAVID DIZON

www.abs-cbnNEWS.com

Gemma Arroyo remained stoic as she waited for Armando "Jun" Ducat Jr. to release her six-year-old daughter.

"Nasaan na ba (Where are they)? Nasaan na?," she pleaded. She did not answer when asked if she felt tired after waiting for hours.

Another parent, Lara Mae Moreno, prayed intently. She said her seven-year-old son was not feeling well when she allowed him to join what was supposed to be a field trip of day care students to Tagaytay City.

Arroyo and Moreno were but two among dozens of terrified parents and relatives who waited for hours behind a police line near the Bonifacio Shrine where Ducat had taken 26 children and four teachers hostage inside a bus.

Ducat, armed with guns and grenades, said he would free his hostages after he had received assurance the government will provide scholarships and housing to 145 graduates of Musmos Daycare Center in Parola, Tondo, which he owns. He added that he would surrender peacefully by 7 p.m. after people had lit candles to symbolize the nation's fight against corruption.

An hour before the 7 p.m. deadline, street lights surrounding the Bonifacio Shrine near Manila City Hall started turning on. Floodlights from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) were turned on, illuminating the PTC bus, which had been parked in front of the shrine since 9 a.m.

Policemen ordered civilians including media men to go behind the police line several meters away from the bus. The cacophony of radios blaring, media crews jostling for a good spot to take pictures or footage and civilians waiting for an end to the crisis was everywhere. Among the crowd were a number of reporters from foreign news bureaus.

At 6:30 p.m., Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. approached the bus. At the start of the crisis, the crowd applauded his arrival and cheered when Ducat released one of the child hostages to the senator. This time, however, there was no applause, no cheers for the actor-politician.

The silence was broken when residents of Parola started chanting Ducat's name. Several held placards to show their support for the hostage-taker.

"Hindi nila alam ang kailangan namin. Wala kaming planong magkaso sa kanya! Kahit kausapin mo lahat ng taga-Parola, handa naming patawarin siya (They don't know what we need. We have no plans to sue him. Even if you talk to everyone in Parola, we are ready to forgive him)," said Loisa Galiste.

Another resident, Marivic Macapagal, said Ducat deserves her support. "Whatever happens, we will always support him. We want to see that he is safe. He is always helping us," she said in Filipino.

Adelina Boluntaryoso, whose son was also held hostage on the bus, said she understands why Ducat went to the extreme of holding children hostage just to force government officials to give in to his demands. "Sa tingin ko, ginawa niya iyon para sa mga bata. Mahal niya ang mga bata. Gusto niyang mabigyan sila ng edukasyon (I think he did it for the children. He loves them and wanted them to have an education)," she said.

She added that she will not file a case against the hostage-taker. "Wala kaming plano [magkaso]. Mabait naman kasi 'yan. Basta maibalik lang sa amin nang maayos ang mga bata (We have no plans to file a case. He's a good man. As long as the children are returned to us safely)."

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, however, did not accept Ducat's reasoning. "There are a lot of people upset about the social, economic and political situation in the country but hopefully, there is only one Jun Ducat," she said.

At quarter to 7 p.m, supporters of Maria Jimenez, sister of former congressman Mark Jimenez, started distributing candles to the crowd. The candles were then lit and placed on the pavement several meters away from the bus. Senatorial candidate Luis Singson also moved toward the bus, surrounded by police officials.

When the 7 p.m. deadline arrived, a hush fell on the crowd. Ducat started speaking to the crowd again through a portable speaker system, possibly for the last time. Again, he thanked President Arroyo for heeding his demand to listen to his cries.

He thanked local officials for lighting candles, which he said should symbolize the nation's fight against corruption. He said 40 percent of the government's trillion-peso budget would go to the pockets of corrupt officials unless stopped.

Finally, he addressed Revilla and asked him to swear that he will fight corruption in government. He then asked Revilla: "Senador, ang kandila mo? (Senator, where is your candle?)"

One policeman carrying a candle asked for a light from a member of the crowd. "This is for the children," he said, grim-faced.

When the bus doors opened and the children started streaming out one by one, the parents strained to look at the faces of the children. The children were whisked away by waiting social workers who carried them to another bus used as a mobile office by the MMDA. Some of the children's faces were covered when brought out.

Arroyo strained to look through the windows of the bus. She started shouting when a social worker tried to draw the curtains, preventing people from seeing what was happening inside.

She then waved to one of the teachers inside the bus and gestured that she would like to see her six-year-old daughter. When the daughter finally peered outside the window, the mother let out a sob and asked if she can get on. When she was refused, she turned to her husband and said they would follow the bus to a nearby hospital on foot if necessary.

Only then did the tears flow.

The guy is fed up and tired with the corruption in the philipppines thats why he did it.

ksp? what are you talking about? at least he did something to try to help the kids instead of sitting around doing nothing and letting the corruption go by.

this guy is like the filipino version of the movie john q. trust me, we need more people like him in the philippines to change the system. i think most people in the pi now are just pretending to be blind on how the politics and corruption are run. the question that just bugs the hell out of me is why are actors and athletes getting elected in politics? do they even have a political science degree?

elections in the PI = popularity contest

I think this guy chose this method of getting his message heard is because..l.

1. He's done it before and knows he won't be punished.

2. Filipinos do not have trust in the governmental agencies, politicians nor in the media. They are feeling more and more that they have to resort to such extreme measures to be heard.

What worries me, is that is the cry-wolf situation.

So let's say that we go ahead and let the weapon brandishing citizens put other people at risk in order to get their message across. We lavish them as heroes with P500 bills and ice cream because we know that they really won't hurt some anyone.

Then one day along comes a real crazy who goes ahead and blows up a school bus of children after all the ice cream runs out.

What would be our excuse for not taking the crazy out before he killed al the innocents?

My guess is that the excuse would be, "We thought he was like all the other insincere guys who only wanted ice cream!and his picture in the papers!"

In order to keep order, we can't let this go on!

Activist turned crazy..or vice versa

So, Iam also not happy in the educational system in the Philippines so I will also hostage PGMA in Malakanyang or Luneta Park ! Para masaya!

So are you saying that you condone this kind of action? Wow. He tried, but wrong move, stupid move. What about if there are children who got injured. or worse how about if one of the children got killed, like the gun accidentally set off?



In the Philippines you don't need to have a college degree to run for office. Remember Joseph Estrada, his son Jinggoy, FPJ, Lito Lapid (can't even converse in English properly), and others. And you don't have to have a Political Science degree to get elected. Arnold Schwarzenegger has no Political Science degree, however she learn how to be a politician and how to run a state.

There's no loser in Philippine elections. The loser ones will be crying in front of the media that they have been cheated, and they are really the true winner.

All these celebrities running for office already think that they will win because they are popular celebrities, and that the people will vote for them because they are always in television, newspapers, magazines. radios.

he wanted to get attention and he got it. its radical but its the only way to get your point across...

Well, he's in jail, isnt he? So,there.

Jinggoy?
I don't like the man but your perception is wrong. He graduated BA Economics UP Diliman..and undergrad of law in La Salle... you can google or go to wikipedia... why I know... he graduated econ in UP... why i know..because i take econ in UPV... hope you are enlightened...Lito Lapid? no comment...

Contrary to popular belief Estradas are well-educated , Joseph Estrada is an Ateneo dropout not because he failed in his subjects but he had a petty quarrel with his fellow classmates (nakipag-bugbugan lang naman siya)

That guys is psychologically disturbed. 20 years ago, he hostaged 2 priests for misunderstandings in payment rather than sueing them in court. Now he shows off again.

^^ yes its true that he's screwed BUT he has a point tho... I ahope people will get the point so nothing like this will ever happen again... the thing is he wouldnt have done this if everything was spick and span...

He's a hero in his own eyes. He's an idiot. Go ahead and take hostage more people. Let's see if it will make a difference.

^True.

he just gave the soon-to-be hostagers a brilliant idea on how to make the government give in to their wants.