By Ronron
March 28, 2007
The 10-hour hostage-taking drama in the Philippines ended peacefully on Wednesday night, as the 29 victims, mostly young children, were released safely and the two suspects landed in the hands of police authorities.
The incident began at around 9 am yesterday when the suspect, Armando Ducat, Jr., 56, a businessman residing in Las Piñas City, announced that he was taking hostage the 26 students and three teachers of his Day Care Center in the slum area of Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila.
The group was on a bus that was supposedly going to take them to Tagaytay City in Cavite for a planned field trip in celebration of the pupils’ graduation from Kinder 1 and Kinder 11.
Allegedly in collusion with his business associate, Cesar Carbonell, 39, also a resident of Las Piñas City, Ducat declared the hostage when the bus they were riding was parked in front of the Bonifacio Shrine along Padre Burgos Avenue in Manila City.
It was particularly stationed at the loading and unloading bay of the road, very near the Manila City Hall, leading to Quiapo District direction. The crisis resulted in the closing of traffic from the corner of Finance Road and Taft Avenue, both lanes, up to Lawton Area.
Earlier in the day, particularly at around 7am, the bus left Parola Compound where it picked up the Musmos Day Care Center students and teachers – two male and one female.
Police learned of the hostage drama at around 9:35 am after one policeman attempted to apprehend the bus driver for alleged illegal parking. At that time, the bus driver, Deogracias Bugarin, 51, had already alighted and a notice of the hostage incident was already posted in front of the bus.
Minutes later, Ducat was heard on various radio stations where he owned up the hostage-taking and cited his reasons for doing such.
“I am only asking the politicians now for a guarantee that the 145 pupils who recently graduated from my day care center be made to finish their studies until college. And then, I will surrender,” he said in Filipino.
The poster on the bus also disclosed that he was asking for housing for the families of the 145 children. To prove his genuine concern for the housing problem, Ducat disclosed he had with him 30 land titles from his properties in Cavite that he was willing to donate to the families of his school’s pupils.
Ducat went on to disclose also that he had hand grenades, an Uzi sub-machine gun, and a caliber 45 pistol in his and Carbonell’s possession.
But he said the that the children, aged five to seven years old, both boys and girls, are safe and were not aware of the crisis. “I love these children,” said Ducat.
The kids would then be heard occasionally singing children’s songs upon the prodding of their teachers.
Before lunchtime, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. arrived at the site to negotiate with Ducat for the safe release of the victims. Ducat is a godparent to Revilla’s youngest daughter.
Revilla then promised Ducat that he will make sure the graduates of his day care center will be able to go through college.
The concern regarding housing, meanwhile, was addressed by Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando, saying that they do something about Parola to make it “more livable.”
Through Revilla, Ducat also demanded that he be given airtime to the public, through the media, for his sentiments on the prevailing problem of corruption in the country.
The request was granted twice, first at around 1:50 pm, but was cut short due to technical problems; and then, at around 2:30 pm up to 3:07 pm.
“As long as graft and corruption in government is prevalent, our dream of having a better life will never be realized. We have in fact been branded as the number one most corrupt country in Asia. Should we not be ashamed of that? We should all unite to fight corruption,” Ducat lamented, speaking in Filipino.
“I am not calling for a revolution or uprising here. I am just explaining my point,” he added.
It was in his second public address that he hinted his intention to surrender to authorities at 7pm when the people around the hostage-taking site, estimated by police to be at most 15,000, participate in the mass lighting of candle as a symbol of unity in the fight against corruption.
At this time, the number of policemen, firemen, rescue teams, and first-aid personnel attending to the crisis situation swelled to at most 500.
To the surprise of everybody, administration senatorial candidate Luis “Chavit” Singson, former Governor of Ilocos Sur, arrived at the site at around 5:30 pm and a few minutes boarded the bus.
According to a police officer, Singson was not really requested by Ducat to be a part of the negotiating team. No authority has so far explained how Singson got in to it.
But, for some reasons yet to be known, it was Singson who accompanied Ducat when he gave up and alighted the bus at 7pm.
His surrender came after he made another public address that challenged people to unite against corruption, and then, telling the people how sorry he was for his action.
“To my God, I pray now for forgiveness for the sins I have done to these kids. I apologize to the policemen for being a nuisance to you. I am sorry for having done this violent means of expressing my sentiments. And most of all, I ask for the apologies of the parents of these children. I am sorry to all the people of Parola. Because of my great love for you, I have done this. Thank you, Lord. God bless you all,” Ducat said in Filipino.
Minutes later after he said that, the door of the air-conditioned tourist bus opened and the children started leaving one by one. The victims were met by social workers of the government and immediately brought to another bus waiting for them.
Last to come out, in the company of Singson, were Carbonell and Ducat, who were immediately brought to a patrol car that took them to the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters on U.N. Avenue.
“Later in the afternoon, after he disclosed his intention to address the media through the public address system, and he called for a prayer, I saw that he was already decided to surrender, “ chief negotiator Supt. Rolando Yebra said when asked what made Ducat give up.
“From the start, when I first talked to him, I saw that he was not really that violent. But we did not dismiss the possibility that he would turn into one because he is armed,” he added.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Reynaldo Varilla said they knew Ducat was really going to surrender because he was granted his request for a media access and public lighting of candles to go with prayers.
Asked for their feeling while the hostage taking was still on going, at least three parents of the pupils said they were not at all mad at Ducat since they knew he was a very good man.
But while they were confident he was not going to harm their children, they were a little worried because of the firearms and explosives inside the bus.
After the crisis was resolved, some residents of Parola expressed their support to Ducat by holding a rally outside the MPD and chanted his name.
The children of Ducat could not be more grateful to the residents of Parola, especially the families of the victims, for the great compassion for their father, instead of bearing grudge.
“It feels good inside that they are here, supporting my father, instead of denouncing him,” said Irene Ducat, 37.
But she said they are hurt by insinuations that her father was a crazy guy.
“That is not true. He is just a man of principle. Did we see any of our politicians do what my father did to raise national awareness against corruption?” said Irene.
Following the incident, police said Ducat and Carbonell could be charged for alleged illegal possession of firearms and violation of the Comelec gun ban.
And, with complaints from the victims, the two could also face more serious charges of serious illegal detention and violation of the anti-Child Abuse Law.
“If only the anti-terrorism law is in effect now, this could also be slapped against them because of the presence of elements of public panic and fear, and unlawful demand from the government,” opined investigator Renato Garay from the MPD.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Ducat was a “very angry man” who may have valid grievances, only that his means of complaining went against the normal way.
“The way he acted surely requires the use of a psychological assessment,” Cabral said of Ducat.
Both Cabral and Fernando had admitted the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed deep worries about the situation, especially that young lives were at risk.
Yesterday’s hostage drama placed the Philippines again in the international scene as the story saw publication and airing on international news agencies.
Just early this week, a serious hostage drama also happened in Taguig City that resulted in the death of the suspect, who is a stuntman in local movies./DMS
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