A day-care center owner hijacked a busload of his students and teachers and drove them to Manila's city hall Wednesday to demand better housing and education for the children.
Jun Ducat and at least one other hostage-taker scribbled in large letters on a sheet of paper, taped to the bus' windshield, that they were holding 32 children and two teachers and were armed with two grenades, an assault rifle and a pistol, officer Mark Andal said.
One child with a fever was released after four hours, and then was driven away in an ambulance.
They said they were demanding improved housing and education for 145 children in a day-care center in Manila's poor Tondo district where the incident, televised live around the world, appeared to have begun. The driver was released soon afterward.
"I love these kids; that's why I am here," Ducat, identified by police and parents as the day-care center owner, told DZMM radio by cell phone. "We have a field trip. I invited the children for a field trip.
"You can be assured that I cannot hurt the children. In case I need to shed blood, I will not be the first to fire. I am telling the policemen, have pity on these children."
TV footage showed the young children, one in sunglasses, waving from the windows. A woman with her arm around a child could be seen making a hand signal asking for a phone as one of the gunmen held a grenade at her shoulder.
The woman reassuringly massaged the shoulders of one boy as she walked away from the front of the bus and the curtains were pulled shut. The children were allowed to wave again later, apparently to show they were OK, before the curtains were closed again.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral talked with Ducat and offered assurances that the children would get a good education.
About 2 1/2 hours after the standoff began, Sen. Bong Revilla, who said he knows Ducat, was allowed to board the bus for negotiations.
Revilla emerged 45 minutes later and reported that the children were in good shape. He said Ducat was holding a grenade with the pin pulled out, and that his hands were shaking.
The engine of the purple-and-gray bus continued to run, providing air conditioning as midday temperatures reached 93 degrees. Ice cream was being brought for the hostages, Revilla said.
A police officer, standing about 15 yards away, held up a cardboard sign offering a telephone land line as another officer held up the handset. A third officer used a bullhorn.
Ducat, who claimed to have food for two days, refused to take the phone, saying he was afraid it would explode.
Ducat was involved in a 1989 hostage-taking with two priests in which he used fake grenades, but the priests did not press charges in what was described as a contract dispute.
In 1998, he climbed to the top of a tower to protest against the candidacy of a politician who he said was not a real Filipino citizen.
He was disqualified as a congressional candidate in 2001. It was not immediately clear why, but he was well known to local officials.
"I know him as a very, very passionate individual who has his own kind of thinking on the solutions to our problems," Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said. "But we cannot agree with his ways."
周三，一位托儿所所长将一汽车的学生和老师们劫持到马尼拉市政厅，要求给孩子们更好的居住环境和教育。
警官Mark Andal 说，Jun Ducat和另外至少一名劫持者在车窗上贴了一张纸，上面大字说明他们劫持了32名儿童和2个老师，手中有2枚手榴弹、1支来复枪和1支手枪。
四个小时后，一个发烧的孩子被释放并由救护车带走。
他们的托儿所位于马尼拉贫困区Tondo，曾要求政府提高145名孩子的居住和教育质量。 劫持事件受到全球关注，事件爆发后不久司机被释放。
Ducat经警方和家长审查后认定是托儿所的所长。他通过手机对DZMM电台说：“我爱这些孩子，所以我才这样做。我们在远足，我邀请孩子们一起来远足。”
“你们应该相信我不会伤害孩子们。不到万不得已我绝对不会先开火。我祈求警察们可怜可怜这些孩子。”
从电视中可以看到，一个戴着墨镜的小孩从车窗中向人们招手，一个抱着孩子的妇女作出打电话的手势希望打一个电话，一个持枪的人将手榴弹摆在她的肩膀。
这名妇女从车前窗闪过时安慰般地抚摸一个小男孩的肩膀，帘子就拉下了。过了一会儿，窗帘又被拉开，孩子们向外招手表示一切安好，窗帘再次拉下。
社会福利部长Esperanza Cabral向Ducat保证将给予孩子们更好的教育。
僵局持续大约两个半小时的时候，自称认识Ducat 的Sen. Bong Revilla被允许进入汽车进行沟通。
四十五分钟后，Revilla走出汽车，称孩子们都安好，Ducat哆哆嗦嗦地握着一枚已拉出弹拴的手榴弹。
紫灰色的大汽车仍在行驶中，空调在中午93度高温下也在运转。Revilla说孩子们还能吃到冰淇淋。
一位警察站在15码远的地方，手中举着牌子提示可以为他们提供电话，另一名警察手持听筒，还有一名警察拿着扩音器。
Ducat说他准备了两天的食物，拒绝使用电话，说担心会爆炸。
1989年Ducat曾用假手榴弹绑架两名牧师，据说是因为合约纠纷，但是牧师们没有起诉。
1998年他攀上一个塔顶，抗议一位政客的竞选，说他根本不是菲律宾人。
2001年他竞选国会议员资格被取消，目前还不清楚原因，但当地官员对他的名声早有耳闻。
马尼拉市长Lito Atienza说：“我知道他是一个非常、非常有激情的市民，对解决事情的方法有独特的见解。但是我们的确无法赞成。”
（来源：中国国际广播电台）
