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Friday, March 30, 2007
Parents of schoolchildren held hostage won't press charges, praise captors (3:40 p.m.)
MANILA -- The parents of 26 children held hostage aboard a bus by two men demanding better education for the youngsters have refused to press charges, praising the captors as champions of the poor.
Authorities, unmoved by the campaign on behalf of Armando "Jun" Ducat Jr. and his accomplice, were preparing preliminary charges Friday of illegal detention and possession of firearms and explosives, punishable by 40 years in prison. The president denounced their publicity stunt as "prank terrorism."
Police said Friday that Ducat's lawyers have asked prosecutors to review the evidence against him within 15 days.
Ducat - a businessman-philanthropist who runs a 145-student day care center in Manila's Parola slum community - remains a hero to parents who watched their children from the center being held in a bus in front of City Hall for 10 hours Wednesday, as the drama unfolded live on TV.
The parents have affectionately dubbed him "Sir Ducat." Interviewed extensively by local media, they said they have agreed among themselves not to press charges against Ducat and Caesar Carbonell, leaving it to the government to pursue the case.
"My wish is that ... what Sir Ducat had worked so hard for be realized, because we from the squatter area know the hardship he went through to help us poor people," said Shiela Malabo, whose 7-year-old son, Fred, was among the hostages.
"We will demand the release of Sir Ducat. We want him out of jail," said Helen Cabunayan, whose daughter was taken hostage.
"We owe him a lot. He gave our children free education, free food and clothing. He is always there to help," said another parent, Rosita Osita.
Senior Superintendent Danilo Abarzosa said police have discovered that two grenades Ducat held during the hostage drama did not have detonators and would not have exploded, but that the guns and bullets the captors used were real.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, embarrassed by the incident as she tries to woo more investors and tourists to the country, ordered the suspects treated "with the full force of the law."
She said she wants to prevent Ducat - who has a history of attention-grabbing stunts - from pulling off more, and to send a warning to possible copycats.
"The end does not justify the means," Arroyo said. "Despite the seemingly noble issues being raised in this bizarre drama, this government shall not stand for prank-terrorism."
Meanwhile, the Philippines' interior secretary ordered the removal of Abarzosa, the Manila police chief, and two of his staff for serious breaches of police protocol during the hostage-taking.
Ronaldo Puno said police failed to control the crowd of onlookers near City Hall, allowed unauthorized people into the area and permitting contact between the hostage-takers and other people, including media, without proper clearance. (AP) |
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