9 freed in Manila hostage case
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Mendoza is demanding authorities to clear his name and be reinstated to the service.
MPD spokesman Police Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo said in a press briefing that the use of force against the hostage taker will be a last resort. He added that Mendoza's demand for reinstatement will be studied and will undergo undue process.
![Hostage negotiators, left and right, talk to foreign tourists taken hostage by Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza after securing their release at Manila's Rizal Park Monday Aug. 23, 2010 in Manila, Philippines. [Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100823/001372a9a93f0ddc60ca04.jpg "Hostage negotiators, left and right, talk to foreign tourists taken hostage by Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza after securing their release at Manila's Rizal Park Monday Aug. 23, 2010 in Manila, Philippines. [Xinhua]") |
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Hostage negotiators, left and right, talk to foreign tourists taken hostage by Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza after securing their release at Manila's Rizal Park Monday Aug. 23, 2010 in Manila, Philippines. [Xinhua] |
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has appealed to Mendoza to "honor and respect" the lives of hostages. The government is hoping that tourists will view it as an "isolated incident" and that "it does not reflect real situation of the country."
Mendoza was carrying an M-16 rifle when he abducted the bus, with plate number TUU 799, Monday morning. The abduction was held near Rizal Park, a major tourist site in Manila.
The remaining hostages in the bus have been served with food and water from people outside the bus.
In Hong Kong, manager of Hongthai travel agency Lau Mei-sze has earlier confirmed that six tourists including three children, 2 adults and one tour guide, had been released by the abductors.
She said the 22 Hong Kongers had arrived the Philippines on Friday and planned to come back to Hong Kong on Monday evening.
Joseph Tung, the executive director of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC), said the passengers were aged between 4 and 72.
